A Descriptive Study to assess the knowledge regarding ADHD among primary school teachers in selected schools of district Mohali with a view to develop informational booklet

 

Gurvir Kaur¹, Khoinaijam Nitakumari²

¹M.Sc Nursing (Child Health Nursing), Mata Sahib Kaur College of Nursing, Mohali, Punjab, India.

²Associate Professor, Mata Sahib Kaur College of Nursing, Mohali, Punjab, India.

 

ABSTRACT:

The study aimed to assess the level of knowledge regarding ADHD among primary school teachers in selected schools of district Mohali with a view to develop informational booklet. A quantitative approach with descriptive design was adopted. By purposive sampling technique 100 primary school teachers were selected from selected schools of district Mohali. Modified knowledge of attention deficit disorders scale (KADDS) was used to collect data from primary school teachers in selected schools of district Mohali. Findings of the study showed that majority 42% of the samples were in the  age group of 35- 44 years, 60% of the samples were females, 71% of the samples had done B.Ed, 50% of the samples were having more than 5 years of work experience, 83% of the samples were from government organization, 56% of the samples did not have any previous knowledge regarding ADHD, 15% of the samples have source of information through television, 87% of the samples have not seen any child diagnosed with ADHD. The majority of primary school teachers had poor level of knowledge 56%. There was significant association between level of knowledge with previous knowledge regarding ADHD and have you seen any child diagnosed with ADHD.

 

 

 

INTRODUCTION:

Children spend most of their time in classrooms and other school settings, teachers do not only have to teach learners the skills and knowledge that form part of the curriculum but they also have to teach them to behave in a manner that meets organizational, cultural and social expectations. Since teachers work with many different children, they also come to know how students typically behave in classroom situations requiring concentration and self control.²  

 

It is believed to have a noticeable impact on social, economic, educational, and health care delivery systems. ADHD is also closely related to learning disabilities, lack of self-control, and social skill deficits. Teachers are expert observers, and after proper training they can recognize the early warning signs of ADHD. The problem of ADHD is very important as these children are likely to develop poor academic performance, learning disorders, poor social adjustments, increased risk of substance abuse, and risk for accidents, conduct disorders, anxiety and mood disorders.³

 

Children with ADHD also may struggle with low self-esteem, troubled relationships and poor performance in school. Approximately 3-7% of school aged children have the disorder. In fact, half of ADHD children show overt symptoms by the time they are 5 years old, and most begin to display behavioural problems during the early school years when they have to follow instructions from teachers and obey school rules⁴

 

OBJECTIVES:

·         To assess the knowledge regarding ADHD among primary school teachers in selected schools of district Mohali.

·         To associate the findings with selected socio demographic variables.

·         To develop informational booklet on ADHD.

 

MATERIAL AND METHOD:

A quantitative research approach was adopted for the study with descriptive research design to achieve the objectives of the study. Non probability purposive sampling technique was used to draw sample of 100 primary school teachers in nine primary schools of district Mohali who fulfilled inclusion criteria. To accomplish the objectives of the study, modified knowledge of attention deficit disorders scale (KADDS) were used to assess the level of knowledge regarding ADHD among primary school teachers and informational booklet was provided to all primary school teachers.

 

Inclusion criteria:

The study includes the primary school teachers in selected schools of district Mohali:-

·         Who were available during data collection period

·         Who were willing to participate in the study

 

Exclusion criteria:

The study excludes the primary school teachers:-

·         Who were not willing to participate in the study.

 

RESULTS:

SECTION – I:

TABLE-1: Frequency and percentage distribution of selected socio-demographic variables.                                               N = 100

S.No	Socio- Demographic Data	Frequency (f)	Percentage (%)
1.	Age ( in years) 25-34 35- 44 45-54 Above 55	22 42 30 06	22% 42% 30% 6%
2.	Gender Male Female	40 60	40% 60%
3	Educational status B.Ed M.Ed J.BT	71 10 19	71% 10% 19%
4.	Work experience Less than 1 year 1-5 years More than 5 years	07 43 50	7% 43% 50%
5	Type of organization Private school Government school	17 83	17% 83%
6.	Previous knowledge regarding ADHD Yes No	44 56	44% 56%
7.	Source of information Television Internet Magazine and newspaper Friends and relatives	15 12 09 08	15% 12% 9% 8%
8.	Have you seen any child diagnosed with ADHD Yes No	13 87	13% 87%

 

The above table shows the frequency and percentage distribution of socio- demographic variables such as age (in years), gender, educational status, work experience, type of organization, previous knowledge regarding ADHD, source of information and have you seen any child diagnosed with ADHD.

 

According to age (in years), majority of subjects 42% were in the age group of 35-44 years, 30% were in the age group of 45-54 years, 22% were in the age group of 25-34 years and only 6% were in the age group of above 55 years.

 

According to gender, 60% were females and rest of the subjects 40% were males.

 

According to educational status, 71% of the primary school teachers had done B.Ed, 19% of the primary school teachers had done J.B.T and remaining 10% of the primary school teachers had done M.Ed.

 

According to work experience, 50% were having more than 5 years of working experience, 43% was having 1-5 years of work experience and remaining 7% was having less than 1 year.

 

According to type of organization, 83% of the subjects were from government organization and the remaining 17% of the subjects were from private organization.

 

According to previous knowledge regarding ADHD, 56% of the primary school teachers did not have any previous knowledge while remaining 44% have previous knowledge regarding ADHD.

 

According to source of information, 15% of the primary school teachers have the source of information through television, 12% of the primary school teachers through internet, 9% through magazines and newspaper and 8% through friends and relatives.

 

According to have you seen any child diagnosed with ADHD, majority (87%) of the primary school teachers have not seen any child diagnosed with ADHD and the remaining 13% of the primary school teachers have seen children diagnosed with ADHD.

SECTION II:

TABLE 2: Frequency and percentage distribution of level of knowledge of primary school teachers regarding ADHD N = 100

S.No	Level of knowledge	Knowledge score	Frequency	Percentage
1.	Poor knowledge	0 – 13	56	56%
2.	Average knowledge	14 – 26	37	37%
3.	Good knowledge	27 – 40	7	7%
	Median	13
	Mean ± SD	16.832 ± 5.4784

 

According to level of knowledge, 56% of the primary school teachers have poor knowledge about ADHD, 37% of the primary school teachers have average knowledge and the remaining 7% of the primary school teachers have good knowledge about ADHD.

 

 

SECTION –III:

TABLE 3: Association between level of knowledge with selected socio demographic variables. N = 100

S.No 1.	Socio- demographic variables	Level of knowledge			χ2, df, p- value
		Poor f1 (56)	Average f2 (37)	Good f3 (7)
1.	Age (in years) 25-34 35-44 45-54 Above 55	10 24 19 03	10 16 10 01	2 2 1 2	8.949, 6, 0.176 NS
2.	Gender Male Female	23 33	15 22	2 5	0.412, 2, 0.814 NS
3.	Educational status B.Ed M.Ed J.B.T	43 5 8	24 4 9	4 1 2	2.411, 4, 0.661 NS
4.	Work Experience Less than 1 years 1-5 years More than 5 years	4 29 23	3 13 21	0 1 6	6.453, 4, 0.168 NS
5.	Type of organization Private school Government school	13 43	3 34	1 6	3.643, 2, 0.162 NS
6.	Previous knowledge regarding ADHD Yes No	0 56	37 0	7 0	100.0, 2, 0.000**
7.	Specify Source of information Television Internet Magazines and newspaper Friends and relatives	0 0 0 0	12 11 7 7	3 1 2 1	3.600, 6, 0.731 NS
8.	Seen any child diagnosed with ADHD Yes No	0 56	11 26	2 5	19.025, 2, 0.000**

NS – Non Significant p<0.05

 

The above table depicts the association of level of knowledge with selected socio demographic variables.

According to age of teachers, the calculated χ² value (8.949) was statistically non significant (p<0.05). So it shows that there is no association between level of knowledge and age of teachers.

 

According to gender of teachers, the calculated χ² value (0.412) was statistically non significant (p<0.05). So it shows that there is no association between level of knowledge and gender of teachers.

 

According to educational status, the calculated χ² value (2.411) was statistically non significant (p<0.05). So it shows that there is no association between level of knowledge and educational status.

According to work experience, the obtained χ² value (6.453) was statistically non significant (p<0.05). So it shows that there is no association between level of knowledge and work experience.

 

According to type of organization, the calculated χ² value (3.643) was statistically non significant (p<0.05). So it shows that there is no association between level of knowledge and type of organization.

 

According to previous knowledge regarding ADHD, the calculated χ² value (100.0) was statistically highly significant (p<0.05). So it shows that there is association between level of knowledge and previous knowledge regarding ADHD.

According to source of information regarding ADHD, the calculated χ² value (102.364) was statistically significant (p<0.05). So it shows that there is no association between level of knowledge and source of information.

 

According to any child diagnosed with ADHD, the calculated χ² value (19.025) was statistically significant (p<0.05). So it shows that there is association between level of knowledge and have you seen any child diagnosed with ADHD.

 

CONCLUSION:

The present study can be concluded that primary school teachers have poor knowledge about ADHD. To enhance the level of knowledge informational booklet on ADHD was distributed among the primary school teachers.

 

DISCUSSION:

Findings of the present study, shows that majority 42% of the primary school teachers were in the age group of 35- 44 years, 60% of the primary school teachers were females, 71% of the primary school teachers have done B.Ed, 50% of the primary school teachers have work experience more than 5 years, 83% of the primary school teachers were belongs to government school, 56% of the primary school teachers did not have any previous knowledge regarding ADHD, 15% of the primary school teachers have source of information through television, 87% of the primary school teachers have not seen any child diagnosed with ADHD.

 

It shows that 56% of the primary school teachers have poor knowledge about ADHD, 37% of the primary school teachers have average knowledge and 7% primary school teachers have good knowledge about ADHD

 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the participants of study who had spent their valuable time for giving the information.

 

CONFLICT OF INTEREST:

There was no conflict of interest in the study.

 

SOURCE OF FUNDING:

Self

 

ETHICAL CLEARANCE:

·         Formal permission for research study was obtained from the Principal of Mata Sahib Kaur College of Nursing, Mohali.

·         Formal permission for research study was obtained from the Ethical committee of Mata Sahib Kaur College of Nursing, Mohali.

·         Permission for research study was taken from the principals of selected schools in which 7 government schools and 2 private schools.

·         Researcher explained the purpose of the study to the subjects and had written consent for their participation in the study.

·         Confidentiality on information of all respondents was maintained.

 

REFERENCES:

1.        Kos JM, Richdale AL, Jackson MS. Knowledge about ADHD: A comparison of in service and pre service teachers. Psychology in the Schools. Child health journal 2004;41(5):517-26.

2.        Birnbaum HG, Kessler RC, Lowe SW, Secnik K, Greenberg PE, Leong SA. Costs of attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in the US: Excess costs of persons with ADHD and their family members in 2000. Current medical research and opinion 2005;21(2):195-206.

3.        Bhandari S, ADHD in children: When a Teacher recognizes ADHD symptoms. Childhood and symptoms 2014; http//pubmed.com on 5/7/2014.

4.        Jeorge Watson, S William; Attention deficit disorder. http://www.webmed.com.

 

 

Received on 13.10.2017          Modified on 16.11.2017

Accepted on 28.11.2017      ©A&V Publications All right reserved