Symposia
ADHD - Child
Linda Pfiffner, Ph.D.
Professor
University of California San Francisco
San Francisco, California
Sara Chung, Ph.D. (she/her/hers)
Postdoctoral Scholar
University of California, San Francisco
Newark, California
Elizabeth Hawkey, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
University of California, San Francisco
San Francisco, California
Jasmine Lai, B.S.
Research Assistant
University of California, San Francisco
San Francisco, California
Melissa R. Dvorsky, Ph.D. (she/her/hers)
Assistant Professor
Children’s National Health System
Washington, District of Columbia
Pevitr Bansal, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Clinical Psychology Fellow
University of California San Francisco
San Francisco, California
Laura Henry, MA
Predoctoral Fellow
University of California San Francisco
San Francisco, California
Lauren M. Haack, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
University of California San Francisco
San Francisco, California
Elizabeth Owens, PhD
Clinical Professor
University of California, San Francisco
San Francisco, California
Introduction. Behavioral parent training (BPT) is a well-established treatment for ADHD1, but short-term gains often lack generalizability and sustainability2. Parental adherence contributes to these limited effects3,4. A number of barriers can impede parent adherence including a lack of skill competence, interfering executive functioning processes, and low motivation/negative attitudes5,6,7. The objective of this submission is to present initial findings from the preliminary testing of a dHealth tool to augment BPT and address barriers of parent adherence in daily life contexts. The dHealth platform includes content and features (e.g., skills library, interactive troubleshooting, personalized parent/child daily goals, automated progress monitoring, gamification, digital rewards, notifications) directly targeting barriers to promote parent’s utilization of BPT parenting skills8.
Methods. Using an iterative process and user-centered design, we gathered initial input about content and design features using a visual prototype from key stakeholders via focus interviews and usability ratings. Extended formative usability testing evaluated tool use with parents (N=12) and children with ADHD (ages 6-11) while receiving BPT at their school. A small-scale RCT tests preliminary efficacy of the technology-enhanced version of 8-week, group-based BPT (N=30) compared to BPT only (N=30) implemented by school clinicians.
Results and Discussion. Qualitative and quantitative measures from iterative usability trials support the usability, feasibility, and acceptability of the tool and informed the final version of the tool used in the RCT. We are currently completing the RCT with school clinicians and families. Preliminary findings comparing BPT with vs without the dhealth tool on quantitative measures of parent skill use, barriers to skill use (skill competence, EF processes, motivation), and child outcomes will be presented at the conference. Our discussion will focus on successes and challenges in designing and implementing digital tools to inform future efforts leveraging technology to augment psychosocial treatments.
