Date Available

4-30-2020

Year of Publication

2019

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice

Committee Chair

Dr. Dianna Inman

Clinical Mentor

Dr. Morgan Chojnacki

Committee Member

Dr. Leslie Scott

Abstract

PURPOSE: The purpose of this project is to determine if an educational intervention with families decreased overall screen time use in school-aged children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

METHODS: This study was a single group pre-test, post-test interventional study design. The sample population consisted of the parents/guardians of 30 school-aged children diagnosed with ADHD (5-12 years) recruited from the University of Kentucky Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics Clinic between November 2019 and February 2020. Parents completed a survey about their child’s daily screen time exposure (tablets/cell phones, laptops/computers, video games, and television) and were educated how screen time can exacerbate ADHD symptoms, such as impulsivity and inattention. Families received a follow-up phone call one month later to complete the post survey. The Wilcoxon signed rank sum test in SPSS, version 25, was utilized to determine the efficacy of the educational intervention on reducing screen time habits, with an alpha level of .05.

RESULTS: Twenty-two of the 30 families recruited for the pre-interventional survey completed the post-interventional survey. There was a significant decrease in television use (p

CONCLUSION: There was a significant decrease in parent-reported television exposure in school-aged children with ADHD after parents received an educational intervention discussing the negative effects screen time can have on ADHD symptoms. Providing parents with education on how they can manage their children’s behavioral disorders with non-pharmacological interventions can help empower families and improve ADHD symptoms. Sharing this information with pediatric providers could encourage them to emphasize to families the importance of non-pharmacological interventions in the management of ADHD and improve overall patient outcomes.

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