NFPP OnLINE Proof of Concept

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    Proof of concept study for New Forest Parenting Programme-OnLine parent version with a range of parent end-users

  • IRAS ID

    205650

  • Contact name

    Margaret Thompson

  • Contact email

    mt1@soton.ac.uk

  • Sponsor organisation

    University of Southampton

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    0 years, 6 months, 29 days

  • Research summary

    Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) experience difficulty with attention (concentration and memory), hyperactivity (sitting still) and impulsivity (acting without thinking). The consequences can be serious for the child and family, with problems continuing across childhood, adolescence and adulthood (school performance, family and social relationships, and future job prospects and financial burden).
    NICE recommends parenting programmes as the front Line treatment.
    However, limited resources within CAMHS/Paediatric services often mean that many children with ADHD cannot access the full range of possible treatments: Either because therapists trained to deliver behavioural treatments do not have enough clinical time to use them OR because not enough therapists have been trained. In addition there may be reasons why parents cannot attend or complete longer/more intensive programmes if offered to them: e.g. practical constraints (child-care and when and where appointments are offered) and societies’ misunderstandings/stigma around ADHD and family/parental stress levels.

    The New Forest Parenting Programme (NFPP) was developed by a group from Solent NHS Trust and the University of Southampton specifically to help parents with a child with ADHD. It has been the subject of successful research trials with the face to-face version. The group has now developed an online version in six modules using a tested web platform, LifeGuide. We think that this would be a way of making therapy available to more parents.
    We have carried out usability testing with parents who have found the programme easy to use. They have suggested changes, which we have addressed.
    The proof of concept trial will enable us to try out the programme to gain feedback in a real life situation. We will recruit parents and randomise them into two groups one with the programme and one without, so we can see if the programme produces change in the behaviour of the child.

  • REC name

    South Central - Berkshire Research Ethics Committee

  • REC reference

    16/SC/0262

  • Date of REC Opinion

    25 May 2016

  • REC opinion

    Favourable Opinion