RESEARCH ARTICLE
Comparative Study on Knowledge About Autism Spectrum Disorder Among Paediatric and Psychiatric Nurses in Public Hospitals in Kumasi, Ghana
Wireko-Gyebi Sampson1, *, Ashiagbor Emelia Sandra2
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2018Volume: 14
First Page: 99
Last Page: 108
Publisher ID: CPEMH-14-99
DOI: 10.2174/1745017901814010099
Article History:
Received Date: 20/10/2017Revision Received Date: 5/03/2018
Acceptance Date: 15/03/2018
Electronic publication date: 30/03/2018
Collection year: 2018
open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Background:
Despite the existence of autism spectrum disorder in Ghana, few studies have provided the necessary information on the phenomenon. These studies have mostly focused on speech and language therapy for children and modification of classroom environment for children with autism spectrum disorder. This approach has resulted in a paucity of knowledge on nurse’s knowledge of autism spectrum disorder in Ghana.
Objective:
The study sought to assess the knowledge of paediatric and psychiatric on autism spectrum disorder.
Method:
In this study, 130 paediatric and 93 psychiatric nurses sampled from five public hospitals in the Kumasi Metropolis participated in the survey. The Knowledge about Childhood Autism among Health Workers (KCAHW) questionnaire was employed to assess their knowledge of autism spectrum disorder.
Results:
It emerged from the study that psychiatric nurses were more knowledgeable on autism spectrum disorder than paediatric nurses in general and specifically on each of the four domains on the KCAHW questionnaire. However, the level of knowledge on autism spectrum disorder among both groups of nurses remains low. Apart from the previous encounter, there were no significant differences between paediatric and psychiatric nurses’ gender, age, marital status, working experience and their knowledge.
Conclusion:
In view of the findings, it will be appropriate for autism spectrum disorder to be included in the clinical training curriculum as well as the continuous professional education for both paediatric and psychiatric nurses. This will go a long way in helping paediatric and psychiatric nurses to increase their knowledge of autism spectrum disorder.
