Effectiveness of Educating Program on Knowledge, Attitude, and Performance of Primary School Teachers Toward Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Background: Teachers are regarded to have a key role in the diagnosis, referral, implementation, and follow-up interventions and treatment of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Objectives: The current study aimed to investigate the teachers' knowledge, attitude, and function related to ADHD and evaluate the effectiveness of a training program in this regard. Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted on teachers in the elementary schools of Gorgan, Iran, in 2014. A total of six one-day workshops were held. In each workshop, 24 teachers were trained about ADHD for 4 h. Teachers' knowledge, attitude, and function were assessed before, immediately after the workshops, and 2 weeks later. The data were analyzed using the analysis of variance (ANOVA), repeated-measures ANOVA, and Bonferroni post-hoc test. Results: The results revealed that older (P < 0.05) and more experienced teachers (P < 0.05), those working at public schools (P < 0.001), and teachers without higher education (P < 0.05) had significantly lower levels of knowledge and less positive attitude toward children with ADHD. In addition, differences between the mean scores before and after the intervention for knowledge (P < 0.001) and attitude (P < 0.001) were statistically significant. Conclusions: Training teachers could improve the teachers' knowledge and attitude toward ADHD. Workshop education appears to be an effective and efficient training method that can decrease the awareness gap between teachers with different experiences and education levels.