Mental Health Literacy in hyperactivity disorder and attention deficit: pilot study

Abstract

Introduction: Several studies refer to Portugal as the country with the second-highest prevalence of psychiatric disorders in Europe (22.9%), so it is essential to increase its literacy. Objective: Therefore, our goal was to assess the efficiency of ADHD training, carried out through the" Bicho 7 Cabeças" platform, in expanding the knowledge of adult individuals with no health training. Material and Methods: The sample is 16 individuals between 18 and 29 years old, five of whom are male. Of these, 50% have completed the 12th grade, 31.25% have a bachelor's degree, and 18.75% have a master's degree. We used as measures of knowledge the value obtained in the results after the training and a question on the individual's level of knowledge about ADHD and the usability questionnaire. Results: The results showed an increase in ADHD knowledge regardless of gender, age, and education. The average knowledge gained in training is 8.36 out of 10, and in all evaluations, the percentage was above 70%. The individuals positively evaluated the usability of the platform. Conclusion: Through this study, it was possible to verify the efficiency of the "Bicho 7 Cabeças" platform to improve the population's literacy.