Volume 24, Issue 102, March - April, 2020

Evaluating the level of knowledge of family physicians in Saudi Arabia about childhood autism

Hala Saleh Alzuyaydi¹, Abdulrhman Aldukhayel², Adil Alsweed¹

¹PHC physician, MOH, Qassim, KSA
²Associate professor of family medicine, Qassim University, KSA

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Autism is one of the common neurological disorders especially in childhood. Early detection of Autism can improve the quality of life of the child; however, early diagnosis depends mainly on the level of knowledge of healthcare professionals of the disease symptoms and its diagnosis. Objective: The goal of this study is to evaluate the level of knowledge of family physicians in Saudi Arabia towards autism diagnosis in children. Methods: The study included a self-administered questionnaire for family physicians in Saudi Arabia. The survey explored demographic data, as well as autism onset and symptoms. A total of 106 participants took part in the study. Results: Mean score for the whole survey was (15.12±2.2). Minimum score was 8 and maximum score was 19. Family physicians had low to moderate level of knowledge about diagnosis of autism; but, they have good level of knowledge about the definition and characters of autism. Physicians with longer years of experience showed significantly higher lower level of knowledge (P-value= 0.006) compared to younger physicians. Conclusion: National training programs for family physicians should be performed to improve the level of knowledge of family physicians. Further studies are needed in other areas in Saudi Arabia to figure out the real estimates for the level of knowledge of family physicians about autism all over the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Keywords: Autism, Family physicians, symptoms, Saudi Arabia

Medical Science, 2020, 24(102), 793-799

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