Knowledge/understanding, perception and attitude towards attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) among community members and healthcare professionals in Indonesia

Background: Collaboration between community and healthcare professionals plays an essential role in ADHD care. Therefore, this study aims to identify the level of knowledge/understanding, perception and attitude among community members, primary school teachers, medical students, general practitioners, pediatricians and psychologists in Indonesia regarding ADHD and its association with several related factors. Methods: A cross-sectional study utilizing valid questionnaires to assess the level of knowledge/understanding, perception and attitude regarding ADHD among each respondent group was employed. 1,536 subjects participated in this study. Data was gathered and analyzed using the SPSS version 20.0 for Mac. A chi-square test was used to establish the associations. The value of p<0.05 was considered statistically significant in this study. Results: Most of the participants showed poor to very poor levels of knowledge/understanding (community members = 56.8%, teachers = 58.9%, medical students = 60.4%, general practitioners = 54.9%, pediatricians = 65.6%, psychologists = 52.1%). The similar results were also found for perception and attitude levels. Several associations were found between practice experience and the level of knowledge/understanding, perception and attitude towards ADHD among general practitioners and psychologists (p<0.05); educational level and level of attitude among community members and medical students (p<0.05); practice experience and the knowledge/understanding level in the teachers group (p<0.05); practice experience and the perception level among pediatricians (p<0.05). Conclusions: Further education regarding ADHD should be considered either through online media or formal education in order to achieve a better management of ADHD.