Clinical Preparation Tool-Neurodevelopmental Disorders Comprehensive Nursing paper example

Clinical Preparation Tool-Neurodevelopmental Disorders Comprehensive Nursing paper example

Neurodevelopmental Disorders

DSM: Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD)

Instrument: The Vanderbilt ADHD Diagnostic Rating Scale (VADRS )

Article: The psychometric properties of the Vanderbilt attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder diagnostic parent rating scale in a community population. (Clinical Preparation Tool-Neurodevelopmental Disorders Comprehensive Nursing paper example)

Appropriateness for Dx: The VADRS is a vital psychometric tool for assessing the existence and severity of ADHD-like symptoms, the associated behavioral concerns, and their effect on behaviors and school performance among children aged between 6 and 12 (Bard, Wolraich, Neas, Doffing, & Beck, 2013). The article by Bard et al. (2013) evaluate the appropriateness of VADRS and found out the tool is highly cost-effective and reliable for use in research and clinical setting for ADHD assessment.  According to Bussing, Gagnon, Garvan, Ribuffo-Duggan, & Houchins (2020), the instrument utilizes DSM4 criteria to assess patients for ADHD symptoms. Essentially, the VADPRS was created to facilitate the collation of consistent patient data and reduce the time wasted for carrying out lengthy interviews. Furthermore, VARDS is constructed in a third-grade reading level and can take about ten minutes to complete (Kiker, 2011). Besides, the VARDS scale also measures items associated with other common comorbid conditions.(Clinical Preparation Tool-Neurodevelopmental Disorders Comprehensive Nursing paper example)

Response to Therapy/Treatment: The VARDS has moderate sensitivity to ADHD symptoms. Therefore, the instrument can be used by physicians/psychotherapists to establish appropriate pharmacological and therapeutic interventions (Yuki, Bhagia, Mrazek, & Jensen, 2016). Equally, the VADPRS can monitor a child’s response to treatment and track ADHD symptoms consistent with the ADHD DSM5 guidelines. The acceptability of the VADPRS is high among clinicians, and its utility/application in the public domain is expected due to the inclusion of questions that assesses children’s performance and other comorbid conditions.(Clinical Preparation Tool-Neurodevelopmental Disorders Comprehensive Nursing paper example)

Psychometrics: The VADPRS is a parent-completed rating scale. Parents respond to questions related to ADHD symptoms they observe in their children. The VADPRS is a 55-item scale with six subscales for inattention, hyperactivity/impulsivity, combined type, ODD, and depression and anxiety (Kiker, 2011). Besides, the instrument contains items for measuring oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) symptoms (8), items that are intended to measure conduct disorder (12), and items that determine the severity of depression and anxiety (12). The instrument has an acceptable factor structure and internal consistency, consistent with the DSM4 and relevant ADHD measures (Bussing et al., 2020). In addition, Bard et al. (2013) found out that the instrument’s construct and concurrent criterion can be confirmed. Thus, the instrument has high utility as a diagnostic rating scale for ADHD (Bard et al., 2013).(Clinical Preparation Tool-Neurodevelopmental Disorders Comprehensive Nursing paper example)

According to Bard et al. (2013), the parent-reported Vanderbilt scale is highly reliable and internally consistent even when done at different times. Furthermore, its construct validity significantly supports its factor structure as scores align to the corresponding DSM4 criterion save for the anxiety/depression subscale. Therefore, the VARDS psychometric properties have significant similarities with the other prominent ADHD diagnostic instruments. Notably, the instruments’ internal consistency and convergent validity significantly compare with other ADHD diagnosis tools. In addition, the VADPRS criterion validity mirrors those outlined in the American Psychological Association’s ADHD criteria in DSM4. Lastly, the instrument has adequate test-retest reliability, content validity, and discriminative validity.(Clinical Preparation Tool-Neurodevelopmental Disorders Comprehensive Nursing paper example)

Limitations: Despite its high clinical utility, the VADPRS has significant limitations. The instrument has moderate to low sensitivity to diagnostic indicators (Bard et al., 2013). In this regard, the psychotherapists/physicians should add other crucial means of gathering information, i.e., administering the teacher-rating version of the Vanderbilt assessment scale to provide additional information on a child.(Clinical Preparation Tool-Neurodevelopmental Disorders Comprehensive Nursing paper example)

Second, initially, the instrument was created to diagnose ADHD symptoms without face-value interviews with a child’s teacher or parent and must be used to achieve maximum results.  Lastly, the instrument can be affected by the validity of comorbid conditions, including the severity of a child’s conduct, depression, and anxiety. Therefore, direct interviews with the patient, their parent, and teacher play a huge role in optimizing the evaluation process. (Clinical Preparation Tool-Neurodevelopmental Disorders Comprehensive Nursing paper example)

References

Bard, D. E., Wolraich, M. L., Neas, B., Doffing, M., & Beck, L. (2013). The psychometric properties of the Vanderbilt attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder diagnostic parent rating scale in a community population. Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, 34(2), 72-82.  10.1097/DBP.0b013e31827a3a22.(Clinical Preparation Tool-Neurodevelopmental Disorders Comprehensive Nursing paper example)

Bussing, R., Gagnon, J. C., Garvan, C. W., Ribuffo-Duggan, C., & Houchins, D. (2020). Psychometric properties of the Vanderbilt ADHD diagnostic rating scale completed by juvenile corrections staff. Journal of attention disorders, 24(11), 1521-1529.(Clinical Preparation Tool-Neurodevelopmental Disorders Comprehensive Nursing paper example) https://doi.org/10.1177/1087054717690811

Kiker E. K. (2011) Vanderbilt Parent Assessment Scales. In: Goldstein S., Naglieri J.A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Child Behavior and Development. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-79061-9_3005

Yuki, K., Bhagia, J., Mrazek, D., & Jensen, P. S. (2016). How does a real-world child psychiatric clinic diagnose and treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder? World journal of psychiatry, 6(1), 118.  (Clinical Preparation Tool-Neurodevelopmental Disorders Comprehensive Nursing paper example)10.5498/wjp.v6.i1.118