Recommendations to improve primary healthcare for people with autism: a Delphi-study

Abstract

Autistic people often experience health problems and a range of healthcare barriers. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate barriers and identify recommendations to improve primary healthcare for autistic people.Semi-structured interviews with 11 adults ((parents of) autistic people and healthcare providers (HCPs)) were performed to evaluate barriers in Dutch healthcare. Next, in the Delphi-study, a panel of 21 autistic adults and 20 primary HCPs rated barriers in primary healthcare and assessed recommendations based on usefulness and feasibility.In the thematically analysed interviews, 20 barriers in Dutch healthcare for autistic people were identified. In the Delphi-study, primary HCPs rated the negative impact of most barriers relatively lower than the autistic participants. The Delphi-study resulted in 22 recommendations to improve primary healthcare for autistic people: focused on primary HCPs (i.e., education with input from autistic people), on autistic people (i.e., improvement of preparation for GP-appointments), and on organization of general practice (i.e., improvement of continuity in care).Primary HCPs seem to assess healthcare barriers as less impactful than autistic adults. With use of the Delphi-method, useful and feasible recommendations to improve primary healthcare for autistic people were identified, based on the needs of autistic adults and primary HCPs.