Improved medication adherence and health literacy in parents of children with ADHD: Effects of a targeted educational program

TL;DR

A targeted educational program improved medication adherence and health literacy in parents of children with ADHD, especially among those with medium income.

Contribution

The study introduces a targeted educational program delivered via a messenger app to improve medication adherence and health literacy in ADHD parents.

Findings

The intervention group showed significantly higher medication adherence and health literacy scores compared to the control group.

Parents with medium income showed the most improvement in medication adherence.

Higher health literacy was associated with better medication adherence among parents.

Abstract

Although medication is important for children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), medication adherence is low among parents. One of the key factors affecting medication adherence and disorder management is health literacy.

This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of an educational program for parents of children with ADHD in improving medication adherence and health literacy.

An educational program was developed that covered four main topics: general disorder information, treatment, parenting based on emotional needs, and basic health information. A total of 191 parents were screened and assigned 108 eligible participants to either the intervention group (n = 74) or the control group (n = 35). The intervention group received a two-month educational program delivered via messenger application, while the control group received general counseling. Medication adherence and health literacy were measured before and after the intervention. t-test, ANOVA, ANCOVA, and chi-square test were used to compare group differences.

Post-intervention, the intervention group showed significantly higher medication adherence (6.87 ± 1.36) than the control group (5.46 ± 1.45). The intervention group also demonstrated higher health literacy scores (82.34 ± 6.96) than the control group (72.15 ± 6.52). Covariance analysis revealed significant improvements in health literacy (F = 162.73, p < 0.001, eta squared = 0.657) and medication adherence (F = 40.41, p < 0.001, eta squared = 0.322) scores. A significant difference was found in medication adherence improvement based on economic status (p = 0.037) in the intervention group. However, no significant differences in medication adherence and health literacy were observed based on parental gender, education level, or insurance status.

The educational program showed improvement in medication adherence and health literacy among parents of children with ADHD.

•The educational program demonstrated improvements in parents' health literacy and medication adherence for managing ADHD.•Delivering the intervention through an educational program could be an effective and engaging method for parent education.•Parents with medium income showed the most improvement in adherence, suggesting economic status may influence outcomes.•Higher health literacy was associated with better medication adherence among parents.

The educational program demonstrated improvements in parents' health literacy and medication adherence for managing ADHD.

Delivering the intervention through an educational program could be an effective and engaging method for parent education.

Parents with medium income showed the most improvement in adherence, suggesting economic status may influence outcomes.

Higher health literacy was associated with better medication adherence among parents.

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