Increase in teachers' knowledge about ADHD after a week-long training program: a pilot study.
OBJECTIVE
ADHD affects 3% to 5% of school-age children. Clinical and community based epidemiological studies in Pakistan have shown a high prevalence of ADHD among school going children. A thorough review of literature shows that no studies of teachers' training programs regarding ADHD have been published in Pakistani research literature. The aim of the present study is the development and evaluation of an ADHD training program for teachers.


METHODS
A teachers' training program for ADHD was designed and a pilot run in 3 schools of Karachi, Pakistan. Teachers knowledge regarding signs and symptoms of ADHD was tested before and after the workshop and then again after 6 months using an ADHD knowledge questionnaire.


RESULTS
Forty-nine teachers, all of them women, completed the questionnaires before and after the training program, and 35 of them filled it out at the 6-month interval. Mean scores of these tests were compared using a paired t test. The authors found the difference of mean score of 1.48 +/- 2.95, and this was statistically significant (p < .005).


CONCLUSIONS
The authors conclude that the workshop improved the knowledge of the school teachers regarding ADHD symptomatology, and it remained significant even after 6 months of training.
Syed
Ehsan Ullah
EU
Department of Psychiatry, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan. ehsan.syed@aku.edu
Hussein
Sajida Abdul
SA
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity; D005178:Faculty; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007318:Inservice Training; D008875:Middle Aged; D010154:Pakistan; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012574:Schools; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires