GPs’ confidence in caring for their patients on the autism spectrum: an online self-report study

Silvana Unigwe; Carole Buckley; Laura Crane; Lorcan Kenny; Anna Remington; Elizabeth Pellicano

doi:10.3399/bjgp17X690449

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Figure 1.
GPs’ views and experiences on working with their autistic patients: themes and subthemes.

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Table 1.

Participant characteristics, n = 304

Characteristic	n (%)^a
Age
Mean, years (SD)	45.4 (9.1)
Range, years	27–70

Sex
Female	220 (72.4)
Male	82 (27.0)
Prefer not to say	2 (0.7)

Ethnicity
White	242 (79.6)
Black	9 (3.0)
Asian	34 (11.2)
Mixed	8 (2.6)
Any other ethnic group	5 (1.6)
Prefer not to say	6 (2.0)

Years since GP qualification
Mean, years (SD)	17.7 (10.2)
Range, years	0–39

Location of GP practice
England: London	48 (15.8)
England: the South	76 (25.0)
England: the East	15 (4.9)
England: the Midlands	38 (12.5)
England: the North	77 (25.3)
Wales	10 (3.3)
Scotland	37 (12.2)
Northern Ireland	3 (1.0)

Years in current practice
Mean, years (SD)	10.9 (9.4)
Range, years	1–39

Hours/week patient contact
<10	16 (5.3)
11–20	90 (29.6)
21–30	103 (33.9)
>30	95 (31.2)

↵a Unless otherwise specified. SD = standard deviation.

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Table 2.

GPs’ correct responses to items on the knowledge of autism scale, n = 304

Item	Answer (true/false)	GPs giving correct response, n (%)
An autism diagnosis cannot be made before a child is 3 years of age	False	165 (54.3)
A child failing to respond to their name when called can be an early sign of autism	True	196 (64.5)
A lack of eye contact is necessary for a person to receive a diagnosis of autism	False	288 (94.7)
Research has shown that the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine is not a direct cause of autism	True	298 (98.0)
Autism is caused by a lack of bonding between mother and child	False	300 (98.7)
Autism is a rare condition, affecting only 15 per 10 000 individuals in the UK	False	260 (85.5)
Autism cannot be diagnosed in adulthood	False	298 (98.0)
The behaviours characteristic of autism are usually mild and transient, so specific intervention is not usually required	False	296 (97.4)
The prevalence of autism is greater in children than in adults	False	220 (72.4)
Younger siblings of children with autism have a higher probability (approximately 20%) of being diagnosed with autism	True	260 (85.5)
Most people with autism also have intellectual disabilities	False	204 (67.1)
Females are less likely to be diagnosed with autism than males	True	254 (83.6)
People with autism feel no empathy or affection	False	275 (90.5)
Children with autism can be interested in social interaction	True	280 (92.1)
More than half of people diagnosed with autism do not talk	False	285 (93.8)
Children with autism can show unusual reactions to certain smells and sounds	True	299 (98.4)
Additional mental health conditions (for example, anxiety, depression) are more prevalent in individuals diagnosed with autism than in the general population	True	287 (94.4)
Most children with autism eventually outgrow autism	False	294 (96.7)
Independent living is not possible for people with autism	False	297 (97.7)
The behaviours in autism can only be managed with medication	False	300 (98.7)
People with autism always display challenging behaviours	False	288 (94.7)
Children with autism tend to learn better when things are presented in a visual format	True	251 (82.6)

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Table 3.

Mean and mode scores for each item on the self-efficacy scale

Item	Mean score (SD)	Range	Mode score
Recognising the signs and symptoms of autism in children	5.2 (1.8)	1–10	5
Communicating with parents about a suspected diagnosis of autism	5.2 (2.0)	1–10	5
Recognising the signs and symptoms of autism in adults	4.9 (1.8)	1–10	5
Recognising the signs and symptoms of autism in girls and women	4.7 (1.8)	1–10	4
Recognising the signs and symptoms of autism in individuals with good language and no apparent intellectual difficulties	4.4 (2.0)	1–10	4
Recognising additional mental health conditions in my patients with autism	5.3 (1.9)	1–10	5
Managing the care of children with autism	4.4 (1.9)	1–10	5
Managing the care of adults with autism	4.2 (1.8)	1–10	3
Assessing the strengths and weaknesses of my patients with autism	4.1 (2.0)	1–10	3
Knowing to whom to refer my patients I suspect of having autism	5.7 (2.2)	1–10	5
Knowing the relevant care pathways/services for people on the autism spectrum	4.8 (2.2)	1–10	4
Knowing which community resources in my area are available for children and adults with autism	4.4 (2.1)	1–10	4
Knowing which medications to prescribe for children or adults with autism	3.2 (1.9)	1–9	2
Identifying stress in the parents and carers of my patients with autism	6.3 (2.2)	1–10	5
Total	4.8 (1.5)

Scores ranges from 1 (‘not at all confident’) to 10 (‘extremely confident’). SD = standard deviation.

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Table 4.
Summary of hierarchical regression analysis predicting GPs’ self-efficacy scores (final model)
Variable b SEb β R² or ΔR²
Personal experience of autism −0.96 0.17 −0.31 0.10^a
Training on autism 0.44 0.13 0.18 0.03^a
↵a Significant at P<0.001.