Autism Cognizance: A dilemma among medical and Allied Medical practitioners

Autism Cognizance

Keywords: Autism spectrum disorder, Awareness, Knowledge, KCAHW, Occupational therapist, Pediatricians, Physicians

Abstract

Objectives: To determine the awareness about autism among Medical and Allied-Medical Practitioners.

Methods: This cross-sectional survey recruited a sample of n=300 participants including n=150 Medical and n=150 Allied-Medical practitioners using convenience sampling from Benazir Bhutto Hospital and Autism Resource Centre, Rawalpindi, Pakistan between 20th May 2018 to 20th October 2018. Sample included both genders, aged 21 to 50 years. Basic demographic sheet and Knowledge about Childhood Autism among Health Workers (KCAHW) Questionnaire was used to collect data. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS 21.

Results: Study revealed the total mean KCAHW score of 15.20±5.17 and 8.84±6.31 for Allied-Medical and Medical practitioners respectively. While the Domain-I mean KCAHW scores was 6.28±2.10 and 3.68±2.41; Domain-II score 0.86±0.35 and 0.45±0.50; Domain-III score 3.28±1.00 and 1.91±1.65; and Domain 4 score of 4.83±1.72 and 2.80±1.75 for Allied-Medical and Medical practitioners respectively.

Conclusion: The present study shows that there is significant awareness regarding autism among Allied-Medical compared to Medical practitioners.

doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.4.1703

How to cite this:
Akhter N, Mumtaz N, Saqulain G. Autism Cognizance: A dilemma among medical and Allied Medical practitioners. Pak J Med Sci. 2020;36(4):678-682. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.4.1703

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Author Biographies

Naheed Akhter, Ms., Autism Resource Center, Rawalpindi, Pakistan

Head of Occupational Therapy,
BSc (Occupational Therapy), MPhil (Speech Language Pathology)
Autism Resource Center, Rawalpindi, Pakistan

Nazia Mumtaz, Dr., Shifa Tameer-e-Millat University, Islamabad, Pakistan

In charge Post Graduate Programs,
PhD (Rehabilitation Sciences)
Allied Health Sciences, Shifa Tameer-e-Millat University, Islamabad, Pakistan

Ghulam Saqulain, Dr., Capital Hospital PGMI, CDA Islamabad

Head of Department
Department of Otorhinolaryngology

F.C.P.S (Otorhinolaryngology)
Capital Hospital PGMI, Islamabad, Pakistan

Published
2020-05-13
How to Cite
Akhter, N., Mumtaz, N., & Saqulain, G. (2020). Autism Cognizance: A dilemma among medical and Allied Medical practitioners: Autism Cognizance. Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences, 36(4). https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.4.1703
Section
Original Articles

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