Our approach and intentions in relation to social value

Acendr® Ltd is committed to providing specialist low intensity, self-paced and digitally delivered, evidence-based coaching specifically in relation to symptoms of ADHD.

ADHD is a neurological condition affecting both children and adults and is estimated to affect approximately 2.6million people in the UK (ADHD UK).

Symptoms may be mild to severe and will impact quality of life in several areas of functioning – not only for the individual but that individual within a wider life context.

Acendr is committed to delivering our coaching in a manner that maximises social value across economic, social, and environmental spheres. Our commitment aligns with key public sector goals and policies, such as those outlined in the NHS Long Term Plan and local health and social care strategies.

What is social value?

When we consider ‘social value’, we ask ourselves as a private company how we can deliver our service in a way which also brings positive outcomes for not only the individual but also for families, communities and our planet.

We therefore consider what we do in terms of our impact, both positively and negatively in relation to our social, environmental and economic impact.

At Acendr® Ltd we aim to create social value in several ways.

Economics

• We deliver our service as a cost-effective scale-able solution for health and social care organisations

i) The fiscal cost of providing psychological support to make environmental changes (the first step for treatment of ADHD recommended by NICE Guidelines (2018) is considerable, and therefore a financial burden to both the NHS, central Government and local authorities

ii) A solution needs to be scale-able in order to be accessible to those who need it, regardless of geographical location or the ability to pay at the point of access, or the means to travel to service delivery bases.

We have successfully reduced the burden on the NHS and local authorities by providing accessible services without the need for in-person appointments, thus mitigating the financial challenges associated with ADHD support.

Social

• We improve individual symptom management by delivering holistic, evidence-based education and normalisation

i) Coaching is unregulated within the UK and therefore the level of knowledge and skill between coaches or therapists will fluctuate, impacting consistency and quality of content delivery

ii) Many coaches will have little or no clinical knowledge of the impact of medication or co-morbidity on symptoms, and therefore the appropriate management of symptoms of ADHD

iii) Content about ADHD found on social media is estimated to be only 21% accurate or useful (Yeung, A; Ng E and Abi-Jaoude, E (2022) and such content may be finding its way into information content delivered by some coaches

iv) Available information may be AI generated and therefore not necessarily appropriate or reflective of a UK lifestyle (this can impact the efficacy of information on medication, nutrition, lifestyle, culture and societal values, education, work and relationships)

• We consider the impact of symptoms of ADHD within a holistic framework – recognising that specific target areas for symptoms management are ineffective (such as attention, or memory) – without supporting activities of daily living

i) Many available modules focus on specific symptom-management such as attention or memory at work and do not give weight or understanding to the importance of day-to-day functioning as an important factor which underpins specific symptom management

ii) Our digital program content upskills individuals holistically across many symptom areas in order to be able to achieve and maintain study, training and employment

iii) Our digital program content can help achieve and maintain study, training and employment and therefore help reduce the associated costs of unemployment (such as the negative impact on physical and mental health, lifestyle choices (such as substance use, gambling and crime) and welfare claims. All of these have particular negative impact on those with ADHD

iv) By upskilling service users holistically to manage day to day functioning, we are supporting more disadvantaged people into a sense of belonging within society; and reducing the often isolating and excluding sense of ‘otherness’

• We recognise the importance of support and involvement of real-life ‘buddies’ to help goal achievement

i) We understand that no-one lives and works in complete isolation and our digital program therefore encourages support from others throughout the coaching journey

• We support the local and wider community

i) We are working with the Lloyds Bank Foundation in Telford and Wrekin to build upon shared visions to help our local community thrive and our local residents to aspire and achieve

ii) Our digital platform has been created, developed and maintained by a Telford and Wrekin based business – we support other local small businesses and our local economy

iii) Our film-makers (camera, sound, editing and asset creation team) all live and work in Telford and Wrekin – we invest in local small businesses and our local economy

iv) We value inclusivity and our film-makers each experience neurodiversity; adding lived experience to their professional expertise in their work with us

• We reduce the potential negative impact on both Service providers and service users of F2F sessions for coaching

i) Those with ADHD may struggle to remember appointments and the DNA rate is often high – negatively impacting Public Services by wasting valuable appointment times and precious staff resources, which increases waiting lists

ii) Our digital program reduces the financial burden on the NHS, central Government and local government-eliminating the need to recruit, employ and upskill clinicians to provide specialist low-intensity ADHD coaching across the Public Sector

iii) Our digital program is available whenever the service user wishes to access it, as many times as they choose. This means:

a. No burden placed upon the service user for paying for or finding child care to facilitate attendance for F2F coaching appointments

b. No need for a service user to take time out from work, training or studies in order to attend F2F coaching appointments

c. No travel costs for the service user

d. The program fits around individual service user lifestyle and is therefore work-life and family-life ‘friendly’

e. Ends the postcode lottery of having access to only the services that local NHS or Social Care Services has the resources to provide

f. Offers a consistent, low-intensity evidence-based coaching program, where-ever the service user lives within the UK

g. Does not restrict treatment to only those who have already received a formal ADHD diagnosis

Environmental

• We consider how delivery of our program may impact our planet, reducing the environmental cost of travel and paper waste while encouraging flexible and frequent access

i) Our digital program reduces the demand on Public Services for clinical appointment spaces which require utilities (water, light, heat) to maintain

ii) Our digital program reduces the need for staff travel to clinical bases to provide 1:1 coaching appointments

iii) Our digital program reduces the environmental cost of service user travel using transport, particularly for those in rural and remote areas where travel may be considerable; and which includes the impact of petrol and diesel and associated air pollution, contributing to a lower carbon footprint

How we deliver and monitor our social values

We ensure ongoing consideration of our company’s social values - where we are now and what else we can do to give weight to social values in all services we deliver

We currently do this by

• Seeking and monitoring generic and anonymous feedback from our individual service users during program use

• Seeking and monitoring feedback from those organisations commissioning our service

• Ensuring our services offer value for money for our Public Sector and also for tax payers

• Ensure our digital content reflects NHS and Social Care processes and UK general lifestyle and values, is neurodiverse-affirmative and biopsychosocial in its approach and content, and is both inclusional and empowering for our client group

• Valuing and engaging with experts by lived experience – seeking out their evolving thoughts, opinions, experiences and professional vision to help make what we do the very best it can be

Future Commitments

We are continuously developing new features to enhance our service and are committed to transparent reporting on our social value outcomes.

Independent evaluations will be conducted annually to ensure that we meet or exceed our social value objectives.

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References

Gov.UK. A Plan for Digital Health and Social Care. Publ. 29 Jun 2022.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-plan-for-digital-health-and-social-care/a-plan-for-digital-health-and-social-care [last accessed 21/07/24]

Gov.UK. Understanding WCAG 2.2. https://www.gov.uk/service-manual/helping-people-to-use-your-service/understanding-wcag [last accessed 21/07/24]

Gov.UK. Making your service accessible: An introduction. https://www.gov.uk/service-manual/helping-people-to-use-your-service/making-your-service-accessible-an-introduction#meeting-government-accessibility-requirements [last accessed 21/07/24]

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Diagnosis and Management.

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng87 [last accessed 21/07/24] TikTok and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity

Yeung, A; Ng E and Abi-Jaoude, E (2022) TikTok and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A Cross-Sectional Study of Social Media Content Quality. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. Vol 67 (12), pp899-906

ADHD UK. ADHD Incidence. https://adhduk.co.uk/adhd-incidence/ [last accessed 06/09/24]

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