Assessment of Knowledge and Attitude of General Practitioners Regarding Autism and Associated Factors at Gondar University Hospital, Gondar, Ethiopia.

Abstract

Background: The neurodevelopmental conditions known as autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) start in early childhood and last the entirety of a person's life. They are characterized by distorted social interaction, difficulties communicating, and repetitive, stereotypical behavior. Objective: This study sought to evaluate general practitioners (GPs)' attitudes and knowledge of ASDs and related factors at Gondar University Hospital. Methods: An institutional-based cross-sectional study design was used. Using a convenience-sample method, three-hundred sixty individuals were chosen for this study. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire. The GPs who took part in this survey were characterized by descriptive statistics. The relationship between the dependent variables (knowledge and attitude) and the sociodemographic characteristics was examined using an independent two-sample t-test and Pearson correlation analysis. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences Version 25 was used for all data analyses. Results: In this study, the GPs had an average age of 31.82 years, with an average of 18 years since graduation and 16 years of practice. Participants' average overall knowledge and attitude scores on autism were 15.83 (SD = 3.27) and 29.54 (SD = 3.21), respectively, both falling within the moderate range. Using an independent t-test, we found a significant difference (p < 0.001) between the attitudes of male and female GPs regarding autism. The study also identified weakly significant correlations between GPs' age and their attitudes toward autism (r = 0.271⁣^∗∗, p < 0.001) and between years of practice and attitudes (r = 0.105⁣^∗, p=0.046). However, no significant correlations emerged between GPs' knowledge and their age, years since graduation, or years of practice (r = 0.069, p=0.194; r = 0.069, p=0.193; and r = -0.053, p=0.312, respectively). In addition, we observed a weakly significant association (r = 0.004⁣^∗∗, p < 0.001) between GPs' knowledge and their attitudes about autism. Conclusion: Based on their total scores, the participants had a moderate level of knowledge and attitudes toward autism. There was a favorable correlation found between the study subjects' attitudes regarding autism and their age, as well as their practice year. Furthermore, a clear correlation was observed between GPs' attitudes and their understanding of autism.