Shared Decision-Making in ADHD Medication Management: Evaluating Alignment Between Patient Values and Prescribing Practice

Project Overview

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental condition affecting individuals across their lifespan. Medication is a core treatment, but decision-making on medication use is complex and often challenging, involving weighing benefits against side effects, stigma, and personal beliefs. Despite guidelines promoting shared decision-making (SDM), many patients feel excluded, and clinician assumptions may not reflect patient values.

What You Will Do

This project will investigate the alignment of prescribing practices with patient and family values in ADHD medication decisions. You will use a mixed-methods approach including systematic reviews, qualitative interviews, focus groups, and survey or choice-based experiments. The work will identify implementation levels of SDM, examine discrepancies between patient expectations and clinician assumptions, and analyze their impact on outcomes such as medication adherence and satisfaction.

Expected Outcomes

By uncovering mismatches in values and prescribing decisions, the project will provide evidence to inform the development of more person-centred and equitable ADHD care models. Recommendations will be directed at clinicians, policymakers, and service providers to improve communication and support informed, collaborative medication choices that enhance long-term treatment engagement.

Why This Matters

Enhancing shared decision-making in ADHD medication management has significant potential to improve health outcomes and patient satisfaction. Ensuring medication decisions reflect patient priorities fosters trust and adherence, addressing a critical public health priority in ADHD care globally.