This study provides the 2015 results of a survey of college and university health care providers (physicians, psychologists and nurses) about their knowledge about and treatment preferences concerning ADHD. The survey consisted of 37 forced choice questions, which took less than 15 minutes to complete; the overall response rate was somewhat low (8%), creating the possibility of sampling error, but never the less this is a sufficiently large sample from which interesting conclusions can be drawn. Even though about half of providers felt quite comfortable recognizing ADHD, over 90% still referred students to other providers to make an ADHD diagnosis. Over 90% of respondents felt that ADHD medication therapy was useful for treating ADHD and over 50% treated the students themselves or in consultation with a specialist. Nurse practitioners were more likely to refer students for treatment as compared to physicians. This survey highlights potential areas of improvement in the post-secondary school handling of ADHD in their students, including the potential for increased training re: diagnosis and treatment so that physicians and nurse practitioners in these settings will be more likely to diagnose and treat students in their institutions. This could lead to potential removal of barriers to care and treatment of university students with ADHD.

Thomas M1, Rostain A2, Corso R3, Babcock T4, Madhoo M . ADHD in the College Setting: Current Perceptions and Future Vision. Journal of Attention Disorders. 19(8):643-54, 2015. doi: 10.1177/1087054714527789. Epub 2014 Apr 17.