A role for IS in mental health: an investigation of the benefit of using IS in the context of university students with ADHD

Information systems (IS) can support intervention and treatment of many different mental illnesses and there appears to be great potential for IS in the context of university students with mental disorders such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is characterised by inappropriate levels of inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. Globally, ADHD prevalence rates are estimated at 3.4\% in people over the age of 18, which includes university students, and often these students exhibit impairments in executive functions (EF) in the brain. These impairments can impact academic performance, study skills, and social life; hence, fewer university students with ADHD complete their degrees in comparison with their peers.<br><br>The treatment recommended by The Royal Australian College of Physicians is a multimodal approach, which consists of four components: medication, therapy, coaching, and education. This research investigated psychologists’ perceptions of the use of IS in the non-pharmaceutical components of the multimodal framework: coaching, therapy and education. This investigation adopted a multiple case study approach.<br><br>Data was obtained by employing in-depth interviews of psychologists. Each psychologist was allocated to a case based on their declared treatment preference and each case used a slightly different interview protocol. The interviews sought deep knowledge of both the psychologists’ perceptions of the aspects of ADHD in university students and of their practice that relates to their potential use of IS tools. The interviews revealed the following:<br><br>There is a set of behavioural and neurodevelopmental attributes of university students with ADHD that are seen as relevant to the use of IS tools;<br>Clinicians have perceptions of the nature of the Tools of Care Process (TCP), which includes the tools and approach used by participants in the treatment and diagnosis of ADHD;<br>Clinicians see a separate set of attributes of IS tools when considered as part of the Care Intervention Process; <br>There are attributes of Clinicians that influence IS acceptance; <br>Clinicians identify specific attributes of the university student ADHD patient that determine the relevance of IS tools for each individual; <br>There are a number of 'external factors' (outside the Clinician-patient relationship) that determine the effectiveness of IS tools.<br>These emergent themes have been used to develop a theory. The theory is an extension of the multimodal framework, called the e-multimodal framework, which includes the key attributes that need to be addressed for the successful use of IS in the treatment of university students with ADHD.