Assessment of Knowledge and Practice About Childhood Autism Among Health Care Workers at Kenyatta National Hospital
Abstract
Background
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a recognised worldwide public health concern and
represents some of the greatest burdens of disease in children and adolescents. Limited
knowledge among health care providers, is among the issues daunting autism in Africa. A
significant gap in recognition and availability of health and social services for autism exists in
Kenya. Knowledge on autism leads to early diagnosis and timely intervention, leading to
independent & productive lives.
Assessing the HCWs knowledge, practice & challenges, to detect areas of knowledge gap is
essential as it facilitates bridging the gaps identified .
Paucity of studies on practice of HCWs on childhood autism both globally and locally, informs
the need for this study.
Objectives
The primary objective was to determine the level of knowledge of health care workers in
Kenyatta National Hospital on childhood autism.
The Secondary objectives were to determine the practice of health care workers in Kenyatta
National Hospital on childhood autism & to describe the challenges HCWs face in diagnosis,
management & follow up of children with autism.
Study Methods
Mixed methods study at KNH. Multi-stage sampling technique to select 230 HCWs.
Data was collected through a structured validated questionnaire, focused group discussions and
key informant interviews. Data was entered and cleaned in Microsoft Excel and analysed using
SPSS Version 23.
Descriptive data analysis was done using means for contionous variables and frequencies and
percentages for categorical variables. A p-value of < 0.05 was regarded as significant...................................................................
Publisher
UON
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United StatesUsage Rights
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/Collections
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