Development and Dissemination of Online Evidence-Based Information for Youths with ADHD and Their Adult Supports.

BACKGROUND

Misconceptions and lack of awareness of ADHD remain key barriers to adolescents and young adults receiving ADHD care. Although online resources have potential for wide dissemination, they vary considerably in quality. To address this gap, we developed Teaching Online Organizational and virtual Learning Skills (TOOLS) as a free online psychoeducational resource for adolescents and young adults with ADHD and their adult supports. TOOLS includes 11 animated videos and accompanying informational handouts describing organizational and cognitive-behavioral strategies for managing ADHD. Organizational skills having the strongest evidence base for ADHD while other included strategies are still emerging. TOOLS is available in English, Mandarin, and Spanish.

OBJECTIVE

The current study examined the reach, engagement, and perceived utility of TOOLS.

METHOD: Google Analytics data was used to assess engagement of the TOOLS webpages. In addition, 128 individuals who accessed TOOLS (Mage = 40.02 years, 85.9% female, 85.9% non-Hispanic, 76.6% White) completed surveys at baseline and 1-month follow-up.

RESULTS

From October 2021 to October 2022, TOOLS generated 19,876 unique pageviews 12,631 clicks on the videos, and 7,807 clicks on the handouts. Survey participants reported a mean helpfulness rating of 3.14/4 at baseline. The average rating of intended skill use at baseline was 3.13/4 and the average rating of actual use at follow-up was 2.53/4. Frequent responses for positive feedback included digestibility, informative content, practicality, engaging visuals, and relatability. Frequent suggestions for improvements included additional content, especially for adults, quality control, support for implementation, and increase accessibility.

CONCLUSIONS

TOOLS demonstrates that evidence-based ADHD psychoeducational information can be widely disseminated online and can successfully engage viewers, but additional strategies must be considered for culturally equitable design and dissemination. Presenting clinical information with an emphasis on engagement, brevity, and digestibility may be particularly helpful for individuals with ADHD.