Knowledge about childhood autism among health workers (KCAHW) questionnaire: description, reliability and internal consistency

Abstract

BackgroundKnowledge and awareness about childhood autism is low among health workers and the general community in Nigeria and other Sub-Saharan African countries. Poor knowledge and awareness about childhood autism, especially among health workers can compromise early recognition and interventions which had been known to improve prognosis in children with autism. In formulating policy and designing interventions for these children, there is need to develop a reliable tool that can be used in assessing baseline knowledge about childhood autism among health workers and the impact that future continued education and awareness campaign may have on such baseline knowledge. Knowledge about childhood autism among health workers (KCAHW) questionnaire was designed for this purpose.MethodsThe KCAHW questionnaire is a nineteen (19) item self-administered questionnaire that is divided into four domains. KCAHW questionnaires were distributed to fifty (50) psychiatric nurses involved in community mental health services in South-Eastern Nigeria to complete. After two weeks period, the KCAHW questionnaires were re-administered to the same fifty (50) psychiatric nurses to assess their knowledge about childhood autism and to assess the test-retest reliability and internal consistency of this questionnaire.ResultsKCAHW questionnaire showed good test-retest reliability when the mean domain and total scores at first and second time administration were compared. The four mean domain scores and the mean total scores at first and second time administration were significantly correlated. The questionnaire also had a good overall internal consistency when the mean scores of the four domains were correlated with mean total scores (Cronbach's alpha = 0.97).ConclusionThe KCAHW questionnaire is a reliable tool for assessing knowledge of health workers about childhood autism. It would be a useful tool in improving early recognition of features of autism among affected children in Sub-Saharan African and other developing countries of the world where knowledge and awareness about childhood autism is low.

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

“…Participants with experience scored higher regarding their knowledge of childhood ASD than those who did not, which was consistent with prior research (8). Presumably, such experience could increase the understanding of children with ASD in general.…”

“…As previous research has shown (6,8), there were no significant associations among childhood ASD knowledge, age and work duration for healthcare workers. Those who are older and probably with more years of experience may not necessarily score higher on the knowledge of childhood ASD questionnaire.…”

“…Knowledge and awareness about children with ASD remains relatively low in China, although ASD prevalence has been increasing, especially in developed countries (5)(6)(7)(8). In China, the general population often has inaccurate perceptions concerning disorder etiology and intervention options (6,9).…”

Knowledge about diagnostic features and comorbidities of childhood autism among doctors in a tertiary care hospital

“…Inadequate knowledge on these domains may lead to delayed identification and intervention. Previous studies demonstrate that the knowledge on co-morbidities of autism is especially poor 7,11 . This also holds true for our study, with 53% being unaware of the association of epilepsy with autism.…”

“…A specifically designed questionnaire for sociodemographic details and the "Knowledge about Childhood Autism among Health Workers (KCAHW) Questionnaire" were used. KCAHW questionnaire was developed in Nigeria, and is recommended for use in developing countries 7 .The questionnaire utilizes widely accepted symptoms of autism that are taught in medical schools in Sri Lanka in English. This has a total of nineteen questions divided into four domains; namely impairments in social interactions, impairment of communication and language development, restricted, repetitive and stereotyped behaviour and common associations of childhood autism.…”