Needs assessment for behavioral parent training for ADHD in Brazil.
Brazilian families with ADHD kids face a clear service gap, but proven brief and culturally tailored models already exist to fill it.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Bado and her team talked to 42 people in Brazil. They spoke with parents, teachers, doctors, and therapists.
They asked one question: What stops families from getting parent training for ADHD?
The team recorded the talks and looked for common themes.
What they found
Families wait 2-3 years after first concerns before seeing a specialist.
Most cities have no parent parent training programs for ADHD.
Parents feel lost. Teachers feel helpless. Doctors say they lack tools.
How this fits with other research
Vela et al. (2025) already proved that culturally tailored parent training works. Their Latine autism program used bilingual handouts and parent leaders. Brazil can copy this model for ADHD.
Manohar et al. (2019) ran a 5-session parent program in South India. Parents saw big gains in just 12 weeks. This shows brief formats can work in the Global South.
Eugenia Gras et al. (2003) tested phone coaching in Australia. Phone calls worked as well as face-to-face groups. Brazil's rural families could use this method.
Shepley et al. (2021) found that even good brief programs lose a large share of families before start-up. Brazil must plan extra steps to keep families engaged.
Why it matters
You can act now. Pick one barrier from the study—long wait times, no programs, or parent confusion. Test a small fix next week. Try a single 60-minute parent workshop in Portuguese. Track who shows up and what they need next.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a debilitating condition affecting children and their families worldwide. Behavioral parent training is a recommended form of empirically supported non-pharmacological intervention for young children with mild to moderate ADHD. However, access to such treatment is limited in many countries. Here we identify the treatment needs of Brazilian families with children demonstrating symptoms of ADHD, and the barriers families face in accessing behavioral treatment. A qualitative needs assessment was undertaken with parents (n = 23), educators (n = 15), and healthcare providers (n = 16). Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted, and common themes were identified through inductive coding of participants’ responses. Participants reported a lack of accessible behavioral treatment, and delays in accessing treatment when available. The majority of parents had not received behavioral parent training, despite it being a recommended form of treatment. Parents, educators and healthcare providers strongly endorsed a need for practical tools to manage the behavior of children with ADHD. Existing services might not meet the needs of children with ADHD and their families in Brazil. Easily accessed behavioral parent training programs are recommended to address the identified treatment gap for Brazilian children with ADHD and their families.
Frontiers in Psychiatry, 2023 · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1191289