Knowledge about attention deficit hyperactivity disorder among primary school teachers in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Context: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common neurobehavioral disorders affecting children. As ADHD symptoms affect the learning process of children at schools, teachers have an important role in identifying children who may have ADHD. Aim: This study aims to estimate knowledge level of primary school teachers in Riyadh about ADHD and to correlate the level of knowledge to demographic characteristics. Settings and Design: A cross-sectional study including 448 male and female teachers from 20 primary schools. Materials and Methods: Schools were sampled using multistage random sampling technique. The Knowledge of Attention Deficit Disorder Scale questionnaire was used for data collection. Data collection continued for 1 month starting from January 30, 2020. Statistical Analysis Used: Association between main outcome and different demographic variables was tested using analysis of variance test for more than two groups, categorical variables and t-test for nominal binary variables using SPSS. Results: The mean of the overall knowledge about ADHD was 43.1%. The mean of ADHD general knowledge, diagnosis, and treatment was 32.3%, 61%, and 36%, respectively. Regarding general knowledge about ADHD, teachers between 22 and 30 years of age and males scored significantly higher than the other groups. Regarding teachers' knowledge about ADHD treatment, statistically significant higher scores were found male teachers. Previous experience with ADHD child had significantly higher scores than those who did not have experience in all three knowledge categories. Conclusions: Knowledge about ADHD has a positive correlation to previous experience with ADHD which proves the importance of implementing a training program to help the teachers identify students with ADHD leading to earlier diagnosis and better outcomes.