Evaluation of knowledge, attitudes and behavior of family physicians and family health workers working in uşak province abpund autism spectrum disorder

Aim: It is of great importance that family physicians and family health workers sgould have high awareness and knowledge of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in order for children at risk to receive early diagnosis and treatment. Our aim in this research is to examine the childhood autism knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of family physicians and family health workers working in Family Health Centers (FHC) in Uşak. Materials and Methods: our study is a descriptive and cross-sectional study conducted with family physicians and family health workers working in ASM in Uşak. The study was conducted between the dates of 1.4.2019-1.10.2019. The survey asked to the participants consists of two parts. The first part contains the sociodemographic data form, and the second part contains questions about Knowledge about Childhood Autism among Health Workers (KCAHW). Results: A total of 168 people participated in our study. 84 of them were family physicians and 84 were family health workers. 73.2% (n=123) of the participants were women and 26.8% (n=45) were men. The average age of the participants was found to be 39.3±7.4 years. It was determined that the average length of time the participants worked in the profession was 15.6±8.0 years, and the average length of time they worked in FHC was 7.7±4.6 years. The total mean score of the participants in KCAHW was 14.10±2.15. The mean score in the sub-domains was found to be 7.13±1.07 in domain one, 0.92±0.18 in domain two, 2.80±0.97 in domain three, and 3.14±1.36 in domain four. Conclusions: It was observed that the participants lacked knowledge of the behavioral characteristics of ASD and the comorbidities that accompany the disease. It was found that among the factors that increased the level of knowledge were being previously involved in the diagnosis process of an autistic patient, attending a training on autism in the past, and attending a training on autism while working in FHC. It was observed that the participants who received training had a high perception of autism knowledge.