Correlating family nurse practitioners' perspectives of adult ADD/ADHD with employed pharmacotherapy: a pilot study.

PURPOSE: This study explores how family nurse practitioners (FNPs) in the state of Washington view adulthood attention deficit disorder/attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADD/ADHD) and how these views affect the pharmacotherapy FNPs employ.

DATA SOURCES: A confidential survey containing 30 questions was mailed to self-selected FNPs who practice in the state of Washington (N= 126). Descriptive and Kendall's rank correlations coefficient statistical methods were used for data analysis.

CONCLUSIONS: The majority of respondents do not hold negative views toward adults with ADD/ADHD and are aware that their personal views may affect how they treat the disorder. Most of the respondents agreed that given the likelihood of co-morbidity of adult ADD/ADHD, it can be a challenge to diagnose the disorder. The predominant prescribed medications for adult ADD/ADHD are consistent with current pediatric guidelines, with the exception of buproprion, which was identified by 40% of the respondents as either their primary or secondary drug of choice for treating adult ADD/ADHD.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Research effort needs to focus on the efficacy of buproprion for treating ADD/ADHD in adults. Moreover, exploration of the effectiveness of current pediatric guidelines to treat ADD/ADHD in adults must be assessed.