Assessment of family medicine physicians' knowledge, approach and behavior regarding the autism spectrum disorder in Malatya, Turkey

Assessment of Family Practice Physicians' Knowledge, Approach and Behavior Regarding the Autism Spectrum Disorder in Malatya, Turkey Aim: In this study we aim to assess the knowledge, approach and behavior of Family Physicians on the ASD; and to increase their knowledge and awareness in this field. In addition, we aim to reinforce the assessment of not only the physical development of newborns and toddlers, but also their cognitive, social and emotional developmental phases; hence ensuring that families whose children are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder are provided with appropriate information and guidance in their upbringing. Materials and methods: Family Physicians and professionals from Malatya family health centers and public health centers were randomly selected. Participant information forms were based on "DSM 5" criteria, "CARS", "M-CAT", as well as questions from the questionnaire of Imran et. al. 101 Physicians participated alltogether. Results: We found the Family Physicians from Malatya were fairly well informed regarding the diagnostic criteria of ASD and its associated clinical data. The Physicians scored on average 8.2 ± 2.3 from a total of 12 points. Learning based on experience was observed to be effective in diagnosing ASD (p<0.05). Conclusion: The importance of early diagnosis of ASD amongst Family Physicians and primary health care services in child healthcare is recently being appreciated in Medicine. In Turkey, the position of Family Physicians in this field is controversial. The awareness and increased knowledge of Family Physicians on ASD criteria as the first point of contact with patients is important in terms of early diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of ASD patients. Healthcare policies on Family Physicians should be modified accordingly. Keywords: Autism Spectrum Disorder, Knowledge, Family Physicians, Early Diagnosis