OBJECTIVE: Although research supports the use of appropriately administered stimulant medication to treat children with ADHD, poor adherence and early termination undermine the efficacy of this treatment in real-world settings. Moreover, adherence measures often rely on parent report of medication use, and their validity and reliability are unknown. METHOD: Drawing on data from 254 participants in the NIMH Collaborative Multisite Multimodal Treatment Study of Children With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, we examine the discrepancy between parents' verbal reports of medication adherence and physiological adherence measures determined via methylphenidate saliva assays collected at four time points during the 14-month treatment period. In addition, we examine the impact of physiologically documented medication adherence on parent- and teacher-reported outcomes through 14 months. RESULTS: Overall, nearly one fourth (24.5%) of the saliva samples indicated nonadherence. Among subjects, 63 (24.8%) of the 254 participants were nonadherent on 50% or more of their repeated saliva assays. Only 136 (53.5%) of the subjects were adherent at every time point at which saliva assays were taken, indicating that some degree of nonadherence characterized nearly half of all other NIMH Collaborative Multisite Multimodal Treatment Study of Children With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder-treated children. Findings also indicated that nonadherence produced greater deleterious effects in children in the medication-only condition compared with those receiving both medication and behavioral treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Same-day saliva methylphenidate assays suggest that nearly half of the parents are inaccurate informants of their child's ADHD medication adherence and that parents may overestimate actual (physiological) adherence. This finding suggests the need for interventions to improve accuracy of parental report. Clinicians need to focus on adherence enhancement strategies to improve outcomes of children being treated with medication, particularly when benefits are suboptimal.
RCT Entities:
OBJECTIVE: Although research supports the use of appropriately administered stimulant medication to treat children with ADHD, poor adherence and early termination undermine the efficacy of this treatment in real-world settings. Moreover, adherence measures often rely on parent report of medication use, and their validity and reliability are unknown. METHOD: Drawing on data from 254 participants in the NIMH Collaborative Multisite Multimodal Treatment Study of Children With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, we examine the discrepancy between parents' verbal reports of medication adherence and physiological adherence measures determined via methylphenidate saliva assays collected at four time points during the 14-month treatment period. In addition, we examine the impact of physiologically documented medication adherence on parent- and teacher-reported outcomes through 14 months. RESULTS: Overall, nearly one fourth (24.5%) of the saliva samples indicated nonadherence. Among subjects, 63 (24.8%) of the 254 participants were nonadherent on 50% or more of their repeated saliva assays. Only 136 (53.5%) of the subjects were adherent at every time point at which saliva assays were taken, indicating that some degree of nonadherence characterized nearly half of all other NIMH Collaborative Multisite Multimodal Treatment Study of Children With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder-treated children. Findings also indicated that nonadherence produced greater deleterious effects in children in the medication-only condition compared with those receiving both medication and behavioral treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Same-day saliva methylphenidate assays suggest that nearly half of the parents are inaccurate informants of their child's ADHD medication adherence and that parents may overestimate actual (physiological) adherence. This finding suggests the need for interventions to improve accuracy of parental report. Clinicians need to focus on adherence enhancement strategies to improve outcomes of children being treated with medication, particularly when benefits are suboptimal.
Authors: Hanna Kovshoff; May Vrijens; Margaret Thompson; Lucy Yardley; Paul Hodgkins; Edmund J S Sonuga-Barke; Marina Danckaerts Journal: Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry Date: 2013-03-02 Impact factor: 4.785
Authors: Betsy Sleath; Delesha M Carpenter; Robyn Sayner; Kathleen Thomas; Larry Mann; Adam Sage; Sandra H Sulzer; Adrian D Sandler Journal: Community Ment Health J Date: 2017-01-10
Authors: Alexander G Fiks; Stephanie Mayne; Cayce C Hughes; Elena Debartolo; Carina Behrens; James P Guevara; Thomas Power Journal: Acad Pediatr Date: 2012-06-28 Impact factor: 3.107
Authors: Alessandro S De Nadai; Marc S Karver; Tanya K Murphy; Mark A Cavitt; Jeffrey L Alvaro; Michael Bengtson; Saundra Stock; Andrew C Rakhshani; Eric A Storch Journal: J Child Adolesc Psychopharmacol Date: 2016-04-29 Impact factor: 2.576