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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Digit. Health
Sec. Digital Mental Health
Volume 6 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fdgth.2024.1386892
This article is part of the Research Topic United in Diversity: Highlighting Themes from the European Society for Research on Internet Interventions 7th Conference View all articles

Development of a digital mental health intervention for youth with ADHD: exploratory study on youths´ perspectives on wants, needs, and barriers

Provisionally accepted
Maren H. Storetvedt Maren H. Storetvedt 1,2Smiti Kahlon Smiti Kahlon 1*Karin Berg Karin Berg 2Ingeborg Sundfjord Ingeborg Sundfjord 2Tine Nordgreen Tine Nordgreen 1,2
  • 1 Helse Bergen HF, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway
  • 2 University of Bergen, Bergen, Hordaland, Norway

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a mental health disorder affecting five to eight percent of children and youth worldwide. Inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity are core symptoms, which often leads to comorbid disorders and impairments. I ncreased prevalence of ADHD among youth requires development of accessible and scalable interventions. Digital interventions for ADHD show promising results for adults, yet insight into youths perspectives and needs from digital ADHD interventions is lacking . This study is set in a personbased approach and explore what youths want and need from a therapist-guided digital intervention for ADHD.Methods: Exploratory individual interviews were conducted with youths aged 13-16 years diagnosed with ADHD (N = 16). Participants with an ADHD diagnosis were recruited primarily via social media. The interview guide was based on research, treatment guidelines and clinical expertise. The study applied reflexive thematic analysis, within a Big Q framework. Codes and themes were generated in Nvivo. Results: Four main themes and sub-themes were generated: 1) Tailoring the intervention to youths with ADHD (Push the right buttons; Stumbling blocks), 2) Managing ADHD (Planning and Focus; Regulation and Balance; Social interactions), 3) Me and my ADHD (Insight and Understanding; Accept and Normalization), and 4) Balance between support and independence.The findings suggest that youths with ADHD prefer stimulating and interactive treatment and are aversive to overwhelming, passive content. The intervention and therapist should encourage empowerment by supporting the youth's autonomy in managing their ADHD. Future research is needed to investigate feasibility for personbased approaches to digital mental health treatments. Furthermore, parent perspectives on digital treatment for youths with ADHD should be investigated.

    Keywords: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder1, Adolescents2, digital intervention3, person-based approach4, user-centered5, engagement6, qualitative7 Engelsk (USA) formaterte: Engelsk (USA) formaterte: Engelsk (USA) formaterte: Engelsk (USA) formaterte: Engelsk (USA) formaterte: Engelsk (USA)

    Received: 16 Feb 2024; Accepted: 24 Jun 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Storetvedt, Kahlon, Berg, Sundfjord and Nordgreen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Smiti Kahlon, Helse Bergen HF, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.