Abstract
Objective: We aimed to assess the degree to which the American Academy of Pediatrics’ (AAP) clinical guidelines were followed when treating attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in preschoolers. Method: Using Medicaid claims for children 4 to 5 years of age receiving their first dose of stimulants/alpha-2 agonists in 2017 (n = 836), we determined if BH was received prior to initiation of medication. We examined predictors after controlling for confounders. Results: More than half the sample did not receive first-line BH, which did not differ by demographics. Those receiving BH prior to medication had a higher rate of receiving an ADHD diagnosis. Only three diagnoses were significant in multivariate (OR 13.8, 95% CI [1.7–115.1]) analyses. Conclusion: More than half the sample did not, conservatively, meet the AAP clinical recommendations. Further research is needed to identify targets for intervention. Limitations are noted.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 437-446 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Journal of Attention Disorders |
| Volume | 27 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Feb 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© The Author(s) 2023.
Funding
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The study was funded, in part, by a State-University Partnership with Kentucky Medicaid. The study sponsor had no involvement in the (1) study design; (2) the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; (3) the writing of the report; or (4) the decision to submit the paper for publication.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Kentucky Department of Medicaid Services |
Keywords
- attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder
- children
- low-income
- psychotropic medication
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Developmental and Educational Psychology
- Clinical Psychology