Ontario physicians' perceived competency when providing care for individuals with ASD

Abstract

The current document is a manuscript-based thesis investigating the overall perceived knowledge, competency and experiences of Ontario physicians when diagnosing and treating individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). A growing body of literature has revealed that physicians often do not feel comfortable providing care for patients with ASD due to lack of education, training, exposure, and interest working with this population. However, there has been a recent shift in the literature focusing on identifying factors that enhance the healthcare system for patients with ASD as well as barriers that physicians encounter when diagnosing and treating these individuals. Therefore, the first paper included in this thesis is a mixed-methods analysis of physicians’ perceived knowledge and competency in terms of diagnosis and treatment of ASD. Despite their high perceived knowledge regarding the diagnosis and treatment of ASD, medical practitioners expressed their needs for further education and training regarding ASD. The second paper included is also a mixed-methods analysis examining factors that hinder and facilitate physicians’ abilities to provide appropriate care for individuals with ASD. Descriptive statistics, paired-samples T-tests, repeated measures ANOVA, and chi-square analyses were used to analyze the results of a questionnaire and thematic analysis was used to analyze the semistructured interviews. Recommendations for improving the healthcare and educational systems as well as implications for enhancing physicians’ knowledge, competency and experiences are discussed.