Table 2.
Characteristics of the studies included
| Author and year | Country | Population | Setting | Study type | Intervention | Comparator | Follow-up/time horizon |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ADHD | |||||||
| Tran et al. [40] | USA | 7–11 y.o. children with ADHD-I | Schools | RCT |
Psychosocial program Child Life and Attention Skills (CLAS): included integrated parent, teacher, and child components (90-min parent group meetings, 30-min individual meetings with the parents and child, 90-min child group meetings, 30-min teacher consultation meetings) |
1. Psychosocial program parent-focused treatment (PFT) as active treatment control arm, only incorporated the parent component from the CLAS program (90-min parent group meetings, 30-min individual meetings with the parents and child); 2. TAU: conventional treatment by community providers that was available to all participants | 13 weeks (3 months) |
| Sonuga-Barke et al. [32] | UK | Preschool children with ADHD | Home and outpatient clinic settings | RCT | 1. New Forest Parenting Program (NFPP): 12-week, 1.5 h sessions; 2. Incredible Years (IY) parenting program: 12-week 2–2.5 h sessions and weekly phone calls | TAU (standard patterns of preschool ADHD care available ranging from parent training and education to very little support) | 6 months |
| Zimovetz et al. [33] | UK | Children and adolescents with ADHD with inadequate response to methylphenidate | Outpatient health | Modeling | Lisdexamfetamine dimesylate (LDX) | Atomoxetine (ATX) | 1 year |
| Sohn et al. [34] | USA | Children and adolescents with ADHD who failed initial stimulant treatment | Outpatient health | Modeling | Atypical antipsychotics (AAPs): aripiprazole, olanzapine, paliperidone, quetiapine, risperidone, ziprasidone | 1. Clonidine/guanfacine; 2. Atomoxetine | 1 year |
| Maia et al. [35] | Brazil | 6–17 y.o. with ADHD | Outpatient health | Modeling | 1. Immediate-release methylphenidate (IR-MPH) (Children); 2. IR-MPH (Adolescents) | Natural course of disease (do-nothing) | 6 years |
| Lachaine, et al. [36] | Canada | 6–12 y.o. with ADHD with suboptimal response to stimulants | Outpatient health | Modeling | Non-stimulant GXR-ER (guanfacine extended-release) as adjunctive therapy to a long-acting stimulant | Long-acting stimulant monotherapy | 1 year |
| Schawo et al. [37] | Netherlands | 6 y.o. with ADHD with suboptimal response to IR-MPH | Outpatient health | Modeling | Methylphenidate osmotic-release oral system (MPH-OROS) | IR-MPH | 12 years |
| van der Schans, et al. [38] | Netherlands | 8 y.o. with suboptimal response to IR-MPH | Outpatient health | Modeling | 1. IR-MPH | ER-MPH options included: 1. MPH-OROS; 2. Equasym XL/Medikinet CR | 10 years |
| Erder et al. [41] | USA | 6–18 y.o. with ADHD | NR | Modeling | Non-stimulant GXR-ER | Atomoxetine | 1 year |
| Sikirica et al. [39] | USA | 6–17 y.o. with ADHD with suboptimal response to stimulant monotherapy | Outpatient health | Modeling | Non-stimulant GXR + stimulant | Stimulant monotherapy | 1 year |
| Autism spectrum disorders | |||||||
| Byford et al. [42] | UK | Preschool children with autism | Community-preschools | RCT | Pre-School Autism Communication Trial (PACT) communication-focused intervention + TAU: includes assessment session followed by fortnightly one-to-one clinic sessions for six months. 2.5 h sessions conducted between therapist and parent with the child present, followed by monthly booster sessions for six months (max. 19 sessions). 30 min daily home practice between sessions | TAU: provided by local services, commonly including pediatricians and speech and language therapists, alongside a variety of other health, social care and education-based services | 13 months |
| Penner et al. [43] | Canada | Toddlers aged 15–36 months with undifferentiated developmental concerns | Outpatient health | Modeling | Early Start Denver Model Intensive (ESDM-I): children receive the intervention delivered by a trained therapist for 20 h per week over a 2-year period, at pre-diagnosis | 1. Early Start Denver Model Parent-delivered (ESDM-PD): children receive 1 h per week of therapist intervention over 12 weeks, with the remainder of intervention delivered by parents in the home environment; 2. Status Quo (current practice): children receive the Autism Intervention Program after diagnosis, which provides an Early Intensive Behavioural Intervention (EIBI) consisting of at least 20 h of therapy per week for at least 6 months, and often upwards of 2 years. The EIBI is provided to 37% of children with ASD at the ‘‘more severe end of the spectrum" | Until 65 y.o. |
AAP atypical antipsychotics, ADHD attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, ASD autism spectrum disorders, ATX atomoxetine, CLAS Child Life and Attention Skills, EIBI Early Intensive Behavioural Intervention, GP General Practitioner, GXR guanfacine extended-release, IR-MPH immediate-release methylphenidate, LDX lisdexamfetamine dimesylate, MPH-OROS methylphenidate osmotic-release oral system, NFPP New Forest Parenting Program, PACT Pre-School Autism Communication Trial, PFT parent-focused treatment, RCT randomized controlled trial, TAU treatment-as-usual, XR-MPH extended-release methylphenidate