Factors influencing knowledge about childhood autism among final year undergraduate Medical, Nursing and Psychology students of University of Nigeria, Enugu State, Nigeria

Abstract

BackgroundKnowledge and awareness about childhood autism is low among health care workers and the general populace in Nigeria. Poor knowledge about childhood autism among final year medical, nursing and psychology students who would form tomorrow's child health care professionals can compromise early recognition and interventions that are known to improve prognosis in childhood autism. Educational factors that could be influencing knowledge about childhood autism among these future health care professionals are unknown. This study assessed knowledge about childhood autism among final year undergraduate medical, nursing and psychology students in south-eastern Nigeria and determined the factors that could be influencing such knowledge.MethodsOne hundred final year undergraduate students were randomly selected from each of the Departments of Medicine, Nursing Science and Psychology respectively of University of Nigeria, Enugu State, Nigeria making a sample size of three hundred. A socio-demographic questionnaire and knowledge about childhood autism among health workers (KCAHW) questionnaire were administered to the students.ResultsThe total mean score for the three groups of students on the KCAHW questionnaire was 10.67 ± 3.73 out of a possible total score of 19, with medical, nursing and psychology students having total mean scores of 12.24 ± 3.24, 10.76 ± 3.50 and 9.01 ± 3.76 respectively. The mean scores for the three groups showed statistically significant difference for domain 1 (p = 0.000), domain 3 (p = 0.029), domain 4 (p = 0.000) and total score (p = 0.000), with medical students more likely to recognise symptoms and signs of autism compared to nursing and psychology students. The mean score in domain 2 did not show statistically significant difference among the three groups (p = 0.769). The total score on the KCAHW questionnaire is positively correlated with the number of weeks of posting in psychiatry (r = 0.319, p = 0.000) and the number of weeks of posting in paediatrics (r = 0.372, p = 0.000). The total score is also positively correlated with the number of credit hours of lectures in psychiatry/abnormal psychology (r = 0.324, p = 0.000) and the number of credit hours of lectures in paediatrics (r = 0.372, p = 0.000). The field of study also influenced knowledge about childhood autism (p = 0.000).ConclusionPeculiar situation in this environment as signified by inadequate human resources needed in the area of clinical psychology training often times necessitates employing first degree graduates in psychology into clinical positions. This calls for additional exposure of the undergraduate psychology students to training curriculum aimed at improving their early recognition of symptoms of autism spectrum disorders in this environment.

Child Healthcare Workers’ Knowledge About Autism and Attitudes Towards Traditional Chinese Medical Therapy of Autism: A Survey from Grassroots Institutes in China

“…Multivariate analysis also showed that there were significant associations between scores of knowledge of childhood ASD and specialty. Monday et al reported that medical students had a statistically higher score of ASD knowledge than nursing students (15). The difference in knowledge found among the healthcare workers between doctors and nurses in our study is likely to be due to the discrepancies of schools curricula, as well as occupational history.…”

“…In this study, Chongqing, the Chinese fourth municipality, with a large area and large population of children (14) was selected to explore the knowledge and attitudes of childhood ASD among child healthcare workers in grassroots health service institutes. The study may further contribute to a growing body of literature concerning early diagnosis and intervention efforts (15). This research may also help to delineate the impact of policy initiatives in China, which has begun to help the needs of ASD children by expanding financial assistance (16).…”

“…This research may also help to delineate the impact of policy initiatives in China, which has begun to help the needs of ASD children by expanding financial assistance (16). In the current study, we have adapted survey methods from studies (9,15) that assessed healthcare workers.…”

Autism Spectrum Disorders in Africa

“…The findings of many studies in Nigeria show a low level of knowledge and awareness about autism spectrum disorders in Africa, thereby compromising early recognition of the disorder and intervention to alleviate symptom severity (ANPPCAN, 2007;Bakare et al, 2008;Bakare et al, 2009b;Igwe et al, 2010;Igwe et al, 2011). African Network for the Prevention and Protection against Child Abuse and Neglect (ANPPCAN), Nigeria chapter, in a World Bank sponsored program carried out a survey to determine the level of knowledge and awareness of health care workers and the general public in Enugu, south-eastern Nigeria about autism spectrum disorders (ANPPCAN, 2007).…”

“…It was further established that the ability of healthcare workers working in psychiatric facilities to recognize symptoms of autism spectrum disorder was better than their counterparts working in pediatric units/departments (Bakare et al, 2009b). Igwe et al (2010) examined level of knowledge about autism spectrum disorders among potential health care workers presently undergoing their training; they compared final year medical, nursing and psychology students of University of Nigeria in Enugu State, south-eastern Nigeria. Medical students were more likely to recognize symptoms of autism spectrum disorders, followed by nursing and then psychology students.…”