Knowledge of Paramedical staff regarding Autism in Al-Najaf governorate, Iraq

Autism is a life-long neurodevelopmental condition interfering with the person’s ability to communicate and relate to others. It appears to be one of the fastest growing disabilities in children. To determine the level of knowledge of Paramedical staff regarding Autism in Al-Najaf governorate. A descriptive; cross sectional study conducted at 30 randomly selected (multistage sample) hospitals and primary health care centers in Al-Najaf governorate, included 464Paramedical staff, The data collection continued for the period starting on 12 th December-2019 ending on 7 th March, 2020. The results of demographic data was conducted on Paramedical staff with their mean age (32.2±10.6) years ranging from (20-59) years and the highest percentage (55.2%) were in the age group (20-29) years and the lowest percentage(11.2) were in the age group (50---59) years, most of studied sample were females (66.3%) and married (66.2%),regarding period of experiencethe highest percentage (46.3%) with period of experience (1-4) years, while regarding the residence the majority of the studied sample (80.6%) from urban area.Regarding educational level highest percentage (58.6%) from medical institute. And lowest percentage (11.4) from collage and above. With regard to the professional level the highest percentage (48.3 %) from nurse, and the lowest percentage (4.1%) from medical technical college graduates. While regarding the health institution the highest percentage (80.0%) from primary health care centers, and the low percentage (20.0%) from hospitals, according to their family member with autism and training courses, the highest percentage (95.7%) of the paramedical staff who do not have a member with autism, while regarding the training courses the majority of the studied sample (92.2%) had not entered training courses.Their knowledge was mainly gained from Internet, friends and health workers. In conclusion,this study concluded that the paramedical staff had fair and acceptable knowledge regarding Autism in Al-Najaf governorate during the period of study. National education programs on autism are needed to be presented to the public through cooperation between health authorities, society organizations and non-governmental organization.