Monday, February 4, 2008

A child's view of ADHD

The New York Times Health blog ran an article on an interesting study published in the Journal of Pediatric Nursing. Drs. Shattell, Bartlett and Rowe conducted in-depth interviews with college students diagnosed with ADHD as children. The study yielded rich, personal accounts of what it is like to learn and live with the disorder, as well as the coping strategies the students developed and the reaction from parents, friends and teachers.

You can find a link to the article here: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/01/a-childs-view-of-attention-deficit/ and Dr. Shattell included a link to a PDF of the full journal article here: http://www.monashattell.com/uploads/FINAL_I_have_always_felt_different_--_exp_of_ADHD_in_childhood.pdf.

The authors said that nurses will be able to use this knowledge to improve the long-term care and outcomes of children with ADHD. Improved knowledge of what its like to actually have a condition can help providers empathize and better communicate with patients. And better communication can improve patient satisfaction and outcomes in the long-term.

No comments: