Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A Preliminary Study in the Nelson Mandela Metropole (SCIENTIFIC NOTE)

The objective of the study was to determine the treatment and care of a group of primary school children diagnosed with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in the Nelson Mandela Metropole (NMM) during 2005. The study consisted of two questionnaire surveys and a health education talk. Firstly, a questionnaire was distributed to 876 parents of children attending a primary school in the NMM. A health education talk, based on the results of the survey, was thereafter presented to parents and teachers at the school. A second questionnaire was then distributed to parents whose children had been diagnosed with ADHD. The response rate to the initial survey was 13.0%. Most parents were interested to know more about the causes of ADHD and alternative treatments available. The talk on ADHD was attended by 75 parents and teachers. The second questionnaire was thereafter distributed and the response rate was 45.0%. Most children (83.3%) were male, with an average age of 9.6 (SD=1.9) years. Alternative treatments had been tried by parents to improve symptom control in their children, but the outcomes were unsatisfactory. A need for comprehensive studies on the treatment and care of children diagnosed with ADHD exists in South Africa.