title: Prevalence and effect of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder on school performance among primary school pupils in the Hohoe Municipality, Ghana.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common disorders in early childhood. However, not many studies have been conducted on the prevalence and effect of ADHD on school performance in Ghana. This study sought to ascertain the prevalence of ADHD and its effect on school performance among primary school pupils in the Hohoe municipality of Ghana.
  
  
  METHODS
  This is a cross-sectional descriptive study that included 400 primary school pupils in the Hohoe Municipality of Ghana. The study adopted the disruptive behaviour disorder rating scale which includes the three subtypes of ADHD among pupils in the form of a close-ended questionnaire for data collection.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results revealed the overall prevalence of ADHD to be 12.8%. The males had a higher prevalence (14.4%) compared to the females (10.5%). For the subtypes, the prevalence was 8.0% for attention-deficit disorder, 8.5% for hyperactivity disorder and 3.8% for the combined subtype. In terms of school performance, the results showed that there was a significant difference in the school performance between ADHD-positive pupils and the negative status pupils among the various core subjects.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder was quite prevalent among primary school pupils in the Hohoe Municipality, and has impacted negatively on their school performance. Screening of pupils for ADHD should be integrated into the school health services to enable early detection and management.
authors.affiliation: Department of Population and Behavioural Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Hohoe, Ghana.
authors.forename: Kingsley
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Afeti
authors.affiliation: Department of Population and Behavioural Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Hohoe, Ghana.
authors.forename: Samuel Harrenson
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Nyarko
keywords: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; Ghana; Hohoe; Prevalence; Primary school pupils