The knowledge and expertise of two MindTech researchers is set to be utilised by the East Midlands Academic Health Science Network to evaluate a pioneering project that supports the diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in children across the UK.
Dr Charlotte Hall (Senior Research Fellow/Clinical Trial Manager for NIHR MindTech within the Institute of Mental Health and University of Nottingham) and Caitlin McKenzie (Research Support Officer, Institute of Mental Health and Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust) will be responsible for evaluating the Focus ADHD programme establishing the sustainability and benefits of the service within NHS Trusts that are implementing the programme.
The Focus ADHD intervention uses innovative technology, QbTest, to measures a patient’s attention, impulsivity and motor activity all at the same time. These indicators are core symptoms of ADHD and accurate measurement adds objectivity to support timely diagnosis.
The programme has shown significant impacts in NHS sites across the country, where it has been proven to reduce the length of time and number of appointments it takes to reach a diagnostic decision to either rule in or rule out ADHD .
Academic Health Science Networks across the country are tasked with building a solid evidence base to deliver proven solutions for some of the country’s most pressing health and care challenges. As outlined in the NHS Long Term Plan, published in January 2019, there is a commitment by the NHS to improve children and young people’s mental health services which includes reducing waiting times for specialist services and supporting children, young people and their families through the diagnostic process. The AHSNs are working to expand the use of the Focus ADHD intervention to reach all NHS trusts that support the diagnosis of ADHD in children aged 6-18 years.
The role of the appointed evaluation team will be to measure and monitor a range of metrics to objectively assess the benefits for patients, the improvements made within NHS services and if it translates to a reduction in the length of time between the first appointment and diagnosis. The evaluation team will work closely with the patients undergoing diagnosis and their families, as well as the clinical and healthcare teams at each participating NHS Trust.
Dr Charlotte Hall emphasised the importance of evaluating this innovation for use in the NHS,
“ADHD affects around 5% of school-aged children worldwide and it is taking on average 18 months for children and their families to receive a diagnosis. By taking the research and learning from the QbTest demonstrator project the AHSN’s have been able to implement the Focus ADHD intervention in a further 33 NHS Trusts. 85% of children and families who have been given access to the QbTest found the results helpful. The results to date have been positive, but we must now assess how the intervention is performing at scale. Combining our expertise in real-world evaluations and QbTest/digital mental health interventions we are delighted to have been appointed to evaluate the effectiveness of the Focus ADHD intervention as access becomes more widespread through more Trusts. We will be focusing on evidencing the experiences of patients, the implementation in clinical settings and exploring the sustainability of the intervention for future use within the NHS.”
“ADHD affects around 5% of school-aged children worldwide and it is taking on average 18 months for children and their families to receive a diagnosis. By taking the research and learning from the QbTest demonstrator project the AHSN’s have been able to implement the Focus ADHD intervention in a further 33 NHS Trusts. 85% of children and families who have been given access to the QbTest found the results helpful. The results to date have been positive, but we must now assess how the intervention is performing at scale.
Combining our expertise in real-world evaluations and QbTest/digital mental health interventions we are delighted to have been appointed to evaluate the effectiveness of the Focus ADHD intervention as access becomes more widespread through more Trusts. We will be focusing on evidencing the experiences of patients, the implementation in clinical settings and exploring the sustainability of the intervention for future use within the NHS.”
The evaluation of the Focus ADHD programme will begin in July 2021, with the team hoping to publish their findings in May 2022.