Impact of training in autism for primary care providers: a pilot study

Braz J Psychiatry. 2015 Jan-Mar;37(1):63-6. doi: 10.1590/1516-4446-2014-1367. Epub 2014 Oct 31.

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the impact of a training program on autism spectrum disorder (ASD) identification offered to Brazilian health professionals.

Methods: Twenty-two primary care providers participated in five 3-hour weekly training sessions.

Results: The trained providers significantly improved their ASD knowledge after training in comparison with pre-training (mean score, 6.73 vs. 9.18, p < 0.01). Clinical practice also changed: 4 months after the training program, the providers had referred six times as many suspected cases of ASD to a specialized mental health service in comparison with the previous 4 months.

Conclusion: This pilot training model seems a promising, feasible, and inexpensive way to improve early identification of ASD in the primary care system.

Publication types

  • Evaluation Study

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Child
  • Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / diagnosis*
  • Child, Preschool
  • Female
  • Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
  • Health Personnel / education*
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Pediatrics / education
  • Pilot Projects
  • Primary Health Care*
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Statistics, Nonparametric
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Time Factors