Knowledge and Attitudes of School Nurses to Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Objective: School nurses should be knowledgeable about attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and have tolerant attitudes to children with ADHD. This study was done to identify school nurses' knowledge about, and attitudes to, ADHD. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive correlational study was conducted. The participants were the 245 members of a school nurse association in C province in southern part of Korea. Data were collected using a self-report questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, and Pearson correlation coefficients were used to analyze the data. Results: Of the 245 packets mailed to members, 126 (51.4%) were returned, and of these, 122 packets (49.8%) were suitable for data analysis. School nurses in this study lack knowledge about ADHD. Moreover, school nurses reported low tolerance in their attitudes toward children with ADHD. There was no significant correlation between knowledge and attitudes in the management of ADHD among school nurses. Conclusion: Findings from this study show that school nurses have limited knowledge about ADHD and its treatment with stimulation medication. Moreover, their attitudes toward children with ADHD were in the low tolerant range. An educational program on ADHD for school nurses need to be developed and provided to facilitate the school nurses' role in assessing and caring for children with ADHD.