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Online Parent Training for The Initial Management of ADHD referrals (OPTIMA): the protocol for a randomised controlled trial of a digital parenting intervention implemented to support parents and children on a treatment waitlist

Kostyrka-Allchorne, Katarzyna; Ballard, Claire; Byford, Sarah; Cortese, Samuele; Daley, David; Downs, Johnny; French, Blandine; Glazebrook, Cristine; Goldsmith, Kimberley; Hall, Charlotte L.; Hedstrom, Ellen; Kovshoff, Hanna; Kreppner, Jana; Lean, Nancy; Sayal, Kapil; Shearer, James; Simonoff, Emily; Thompson, Margaret; Sonuga-Barke, Edmund J. S.

Online Parent Training for The Initial Management of ADHD referrals (OPTIMA): the protocol for a randomised controlled trial of a digital parenting intervention implemented to support parents and children on a treatment waitlist Thumbnail


Authors

Katarzyna Kostyrka-Allchorne

Claire Ballard

Sarah Byford

Samuele Cortese

David Daley

Johnny Downs

CRIS GLAZEBROOK cris.glazebrook@nottingham.ac.uk
Professor of Health Psychology

Kimberley Goldsmith

Ellen Hedstrom

Hanna Kovshoff

Jana Kreppner

Nancy Lean

KAPIL SAYAL kapil.sayal@nottingham.ac.uk
Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

James Shearer

Emily Simonoff

Margaret Thompson

Edmund J. S. Sonuga-Barke



Abstract

Background: Children referred for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often present with a broader pattern of conduct problems including oppositionality and defiance. This combination can be extremely stressful to parents, lower parents’ self-esteem and negatively impact family life. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends that families receive support as soon as possible after their referral. However, as clinical services are overstretched, and traditional in-person parenting intervention programmes are expensive, families often must wait times a long time prior to receiving this vital input. To address this, we have created a digital parenting programme called STEPS. It is delivered as a mobile phone app providing a set of tools and resources that can be easily accessed at parents’ convenience. This study aims to evaluate the clinical and cost-effectiveness of STEPS in supporting parents of children with high levels of hyperactivity/impulsivity, inattention and conduct problems, who are waiting to be assessed by specialist children’s clinical services. Methods: Online Parent Training for The Initial Management of ADHD referrals (OPTIMA) is a two-arm superiority parallel randomised controlled trial with an internal pilot study. We aim to recruit 352 parents and their children, who have been accepted onto a waitlist in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services or similar child health services. Parents who consent will be randomised 1:1 to either the STEPS or wait-as-usual (WAU) group. The trial will be conducted remotely (online and telephone) with measures taken at baseline and 3, 6, 9 and 12 months post-randomisation. The primary objective is to evaluate whether STEPS reduces the severity of children’s oppositional and defiant behaviour, as rated by parents, measured at 3 months post-randomisation compared to WAU. Discussion: Digital solutions, such as mobile phone apps, have potential for delivering psychological support for parents of children with clinical-level needs in a timely and inexpensive manner. This trial will provide data on the clinical and cost-effectiveness of the STEPS app, which could support the implementation of this scalable parenting intervention programme into standard clinical care and, ultimately, improve the outcomes for families of children referred to specialist child and adolescent health services. Trial registration: ISRCTN 16523503. Prospectively registered on 18 November 2021. https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN16523503

Citation

Kostyrka-Allchorne, K., Ballard, C., Byford, S., Cortese, S., Daley, D., Downs, J., …Sonuga-Barke, E. J. S. (2022). Online Parent Training for The Initial Management of ADHD referrals (OPTIMA): the protocol for a randomised controlled trial of a digital parenting intervention implemented to support parents and children on a treatment waitlist. Trials, 23(1), Article 1003. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-022-06952-z

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Nov 22, 2022
Online Publication Date Dec 12, 2022
Publication Date Dec 12, 2022
Deposit Date Nov 28, 2022
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Trials
Electronic ISSN 1745-6215
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 23
Issue 1
Article Number 1003
DOI https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-022-06952-z
Keywords Study Protocol, ADHD, Conduct problems, Oppositional defiant disorder, Waiting list, Digital intervention, Mobile app, Parent training
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/14307325
Publisher URL https:/trialsjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13063-022-06952-z