E-mental health: the case of using IS / IT in the context of university students with ADHD.

Abstract

Introduction: Over the last decade, we have witnessed how IS/IT can support intervention and treatment with many different mental illnesses. In particular, there appears to be great potential for IS/IT in the context of young adults with mental health disorders such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). ADHD affects approximately 11% of university students by negatively impacting students' academic performance, and social life; hence, fewer of these students complete their degrees as compared to their peers. Today, one of the most effective and recognised approaches to treat ADHD is called the multimodal framework (The Royal Australian College of Physicians, 2009), which includes four components; medication, education, therapy, and coaching. The research question under investigation is "How can an IS/IT solution be designed to enable Mental Health providers to better support the treatment of ADHD?" Method: A qualitative approach using a multiple case strategy is taken incorporating grounded theory techniques. The emphasis is on the non-pharmaceutical components of the established multimodal framework; coaching, therapy and education. The role for IS/IT in each of these components is examined with the view to introduce IS/IT into the traditional treatment context. Data is collected from psychologists in the form of semi-structured interviews. Four case studies have been chosen which correspond to the key areas of the multimodal framework.