Europe's ADHD experts warn: design digital health tools for ADHD brains or fail users

Europeiskt ADHD-nätverk presenterar första konsensusramverk för digital hälsovård vid ADHD, baserat på panelöverenskommelse mellan 28 kliniker, teknikexperter och patientrepresentanter. Metodiken användes en tvårundors Delfi-process för att identifiera kritiska prioriteringar vid utveckling och implementering av digitala verktyg för denna patientgrupp. Studiepanelen betonar att ADHD-relaterade uppmärksamhets- och organisationssvårigheter kräver personcentrerad utformning av appar och digitala stödsystem. Huvudriskerna är ökade åtkomstbarriärer, exkludering av underförsörjda grupper och försämrad vård om verktyg ej anpassas till användarnas kognitiva profil. Rekommendationerna vänder sig till forskare, MedTech-utvecklare och regionvård. För inköpsansvariga blir detta vägledning vid val av digitala lösningar; för regulatoriker, ett ramverk för utvärderingskriterier. Konsensus från framstående europeiska institutioner förväntas vägleda nästa generations ADHD-applikationer och -plattformar.

BACKGROUND: Digital technologies are becoming an important part of health care, including for individuals with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Digital health innovations present valuable opportunities to provide flexible and tailored support for their diverse needs, along with significant challenges. Attentional, organizational, and motivational characteristics associated with ADHD may affect how individuals engage with digital tools. Potential risks include additional access barriers, the exclusion of underserved groups, and diminished quality of care. To help reduce these risks, the development, evaluation, and implementation of digital tools must be person-centered and guided by a comprehensive understanding of the diverse needs of all stakeholders. OBJECTIVE: To advance research in this area, a multidisciplinary panel of ADHD specialists, technology experts, and individuals with lived experience of ADHD was formed. The panel worked together to agree on key priorities and considerations for developing, evaluating, and implementing digital technologies for ADHD. The recommendations are designed to be shared with the wider research community and to guide innovations in ADHD digital health to improve care. METHODS: A modified Delphi approach was used to develop consensus. Key statements were drafted, building on discussions held during the European Network for ADHD (EUNETHYDIS) Special Interest Group meeting in 2024. An expert panel that included additional key stakeholders was convened. Draft statements were shared with panel members via a 2-round Delphi survey and discussion meetings, with final statements coproduced by the panel. Insights from multiple perspectives were incorporated, and consensus agreement was sought. Refined statements were shared with EUNETHYDIS members for ratification. Panel members were invited to contribute as coauthors. RESULTS: An expert panel of 28 members (21 EUNETHYDIS Special Interest Group members, 7 invited experts) coproduced 30 consensus statements on ADHD and digital health. Agreement ranged from 78.6% (22/28) to 100% (28/28) for the first round (19 statements) and from 92.6% (25/27) to 100% (27/27) for the second round (30 statements). Final statements covered 4 topic areas: Opportunities and Aspirations, Development and Evaluation, Implementation, and Risks and Unintended Consequences. These were ratified in September 2025 by the EUNETHYDIS. CONCLUSIONS: This consensus process provides the first comprehensive set of key considerations for digital health care for people with ADHD and demonstrates the feasibility of achieving expert agreement on complex, rapidly evolving topics, such as digital health. Future work should focus on translating these considerations into more specific and practical implementation frameworks, identifying priorities, and connecting them to real-life stories and empirical evidence.