Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Multicenter Study
. 2021 Aug 10;21(1):424.
doi: 10.1186/s12909-021-02865-8.

Are medical students in Palestine adequately trained to care for individuals with autism spectrum disorders? A multicenter cross-sectional study of their familiarity, knowledge, confidence, and willingness to learn

Ramzi Shawahna  1   2 , Mohammad Jaber  3   4 , Nourhan Yahya  3 , Firdaous Jawadeh  3 , Shahd Rawajbeh  3
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Are medical students in Palestine adequately trained to care for individuals with autism spectrum disorders? A multicenter cross-sectional study of their familiarity, knowledge, confidence, and willingness to learn

Ramzi Shawahna et al. BMC Med Educ. .

Abstract

Background: Medical students are the future workforce of physicians in primary, secondary, tertiary, and highly specialized care centers. The present study was undertaken to assess familiarity, knowledge, confidence, of medical students with regard to autism spectrum disorders (ASDs).

Methods: This multicenter study was conducted in a cross-sectional design among medical students in the 3 main universities in Palestine. In addition to the sociodemographic and academic details, the questionnaire measured familiarity (8-items), knowledge (12-items), confidence and willingness to learn (5-items) with regard to ASDs.

Results: The questionnaire was completed by309 medical students (response rate = 77.3 %). The median familiarity, knowledge, and confidence scores were 50 % (42.5 %, 57.5 %), 50 % (41.7 %, 66.7 %), and 60.0 % (54.0 %, 68.0 %), respectively. There was a positive moderate correlation between familiarity and knowledge scores (Spearman's rho = 0.29, p-value < 0.001) and familiarity and confidence scores (Spearman's rho = 0.34, p-value < 0.001). Medical students who have received a course on autism were 3.08-fold (95 % C.I. of 1.78-5.31) more likely to score ≥ 50 % on the familiarity items compared to those who did not receive a course. The medical students who were in their clinical academic stage, who received a course on ASDs, and those who interacted with individuals with ASDs were 2.36-fold (95 % C.I. of 1.34-4.18), 2.66-fold (95 % C.I. of 1.52-4.65), and 2.59-fold (95 % C.I. of 1.44-4.63) more likely to score ≥ 50 % on the knowledge items. Medical students who reported high satisfaction with their social life were 2.84-fold (95 % C.I. of 1.15-7.00) more likely to score ≥ 50 % on the confidence items.

Conclusions: The present study identified considerable awareness and knowledge gaps among medical students with regard to ASDs. Medical students in this study reported low confidence in their ability to provide healthcare services to individuals with ASDs. Appropriately designed educational interventions might improve familiarity, knowledge, and confidence of medical students. More studies are still needed to investigate if such interventions can improve healthcare services for individuals with ASDs.

Keywords: Autism spectrum disorders; Awareness; Education; Knowledge; Medical students.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Authors report no competing interests.

References

    1. Xu G, Strathearn L, Liu B, Bao W: Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder Among US Children and Adolescents, 2014–2016. JAMA 2018, 319(1):81–82. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wang F, Lu L, Wang S-B, Zhang L, Ng CH, Ungvari GS, Cao X-L, Lu J-P, Hou C-L, Jia F-J, et al. The prevalence of autism spectrum disorders in China: a comprehensive meta-analysis. Int J Biol Sci. 2018;14(7):717–725. doi: 10.7150/ijbs.24063. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Knopf A. Autism prevalence increases from 1 in 60 to 1 in 54: CDC. The Brown University Child and Adolescent Behavior Letter. 2020;36(6):4–4. doi: 10.1002/cbl.30470. - DOI
    1. Maenner MJ, Shaw KA, Baio J, EdS, Washington A, Patrick M, DiRienzo M, Christensen DL, Wiggins LD, Pettygrove S et al: Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder Among Children Aged 8 Years - Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, 11 Sites, United States, 2016. MMWR Surveill Summ 2020, 69(4):1–12. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Khanna R, Jariwala K. Awareness and knowledge of autism among pharmacists. Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy. 2012;8(5):464–471. doi: 10.1016/j.sapharm.2011.11.002. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types