Abstract
BackgroundAttention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a major public health problem in China. Parents of children with confirmed, or suspected ADHD often face a difficult process in making decisions concerning diagnosis and treatment. The internet is a major source of information for parents. The purpose of this study is to survey Chinese parental motivation and experience in using the internet to retrieve ADHD-related information, and how well online information is associated with making decisions.MethodsParents were recruited to fill out an online questionnaire in the health portal. A total of 404 valid questionnaires were collected.ResultsA total of 47.8% of parents agree that the internet helps them to understand the potential treatment options, but 77.7% of all parents still have conflict during decision-making.ConclusionsParents search for ADHD-related information online, but their acquisition skills need to be improved. Internet information affects their health decisions. Parents still have highly conflicting decision-making. Improving the ability of parents to obtain information on the Internet may reduce the conflict in decision-making.
Highlights
Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a major public health concern
The purpose of the current study is to survey Chinese parents of confirmed, or suspected, Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) children, to explore: (1) their motivations in using the internet to retrieve ADHD-related information; (2) how extensive decisional conflicts are; (3) the extent to which online information is able to reduce decision-making conflicts regarding aspects of their child’s ADHD; and (4) sociodemographic and other factors associated with decisional conflict
In examining the differences between incomplete responders (n = 192) and complete responders (n = 404), complete responders were more likely to have had their children assessed for ADHD (30.2% vs 15.6%, χ2 = 14.55, P = 0.00), and were 2.34 times [odds ratio (OR) = 2.34, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.50–3.64] more likely to complete the survey
Summary
Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a major public health concern. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a major public health problem in China. The purpose of this study is to survey Chinese parental motivation and experience in using the internet to retrieve ADHD-related information, and how well online information is associated with making decisions. Results A total of 47.8% of parents agree that the internet helps them to understand the potential treatment options, but 77.7% of all parents still have conflict during decision-making. Conclusions Parents search for ADHD-related information online, but their acquisition skills need to be improved. Improving the ability of parents to obtain information on the Internet may reduce the conflict in decision-making
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