Nursing students knowledge and attitudes

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Abstract

Background
There has been a dramatic increase in the incidence and prevalence rate of autism globally. This increase could be correlated to the increase in the awareness level and understanding of the disorder among healthcare providers and autistic children's families.

Aim
This study aimed to assess undergraduate nursing students' knowledge about and attitudes toward children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

[/b]Methods[/b]
A cross-sectional quantitative study design was used. A convenience sample of 235 undergraduate nursing students from all levels was obtained. Data were collected using a questionnaire. Descriptive analysis (including mean, median, and standard deviation) was conducted. Inferential analysis was conducted to identify the relation between participants' demographic data and the subscales.

Results
The majority of the studied sample was aged 20 years or over (n=194, 82.55%) and was from the second year of undergraduate nursing school (n=120, 51.1%). The total mean score of the overall knowledge levels among nursing students at King Abdulaziz University (KAU) was mild (M=0.91, SD=±1.04), whereas the overall mean percentage score of undergraduate nursing students' attitudes toward care, education, and advocacy for autistic children was 74.38%, indicating a positive high level of attitude.

Conclusions
This study highlighted the level of nursing students' knowledge about childhood autism. Additionally, it disclosed their attitudes toward autistic children. The study filled a gap in the literature by revealing the perspectives of nursing students toward ASD.


Discussion
The results showed no significant relationship between participants' education level and knowledge about or attitudes toward ASD. Previous studies showed that students obtain better knowledge as they gain more clinical experience. Additionally, specialists who have more interaction with autistic children have better knowledge of ASD. A Turkish study found that nursing students had better knowledge of ASD compared to medical students and that pharmacists had the least amount of knowledge. This could be related to the nursing student's knowledge levels regarding children with ASD; unlike other specialists, pharmacists do not take pediatric courses and do not have medical experience with autistic children. It might be necessary to conduct another study with a larger sample of students from different health specialties to assess their knowledge and attitudes.

In our study, we found that 85.5% of participants had heard about ASD. However, in another study conducted among nursing students in Brazil, 65 undergraduate nursing students had limited knowledge about ASD.,Two studies were conducted in Nigeria. One was conducted among final-year medical students, and the other was conducted among medical students. The studies showed that students lacked knowledge about ASD. Only those with previous exposure to autistic children had better knowledge of ASD. The second study was conducted among final-year medical, nursing, and psychology students. Consistent with the current study, the results showed that medical students had the best knowledge about ASD, followed by nursing students, whereas psychology students had the lowest amount of knowledge. However, the previous study revealed that psychiatric nurses had better knowledge of ASD than pediatric nurses. In another study conducted in Nigeria among medical doctors, pediatricians, psychiatrists, and general doctors, the results showed that most of them had good knowledge about the causes of ASD. General practitioners had the lowest amount of knowledge of ASD. In a study conducted in Pakistan among medical students from private and public universities, the results showed that students from public universities had better knowledge than students from private universities. In another study conducted in Pakistan among physicians and nonphysicians, there was some misunderstanding about the salient characteristics of autism among participants. The authors recommended providing extra courses on the clinical features of ASD.

In our study, 66.4% of participants had seen a child with autism. However, in a study conducted in Al-Taif, 54% of participants had not seen a child with autism. It is essential that participants see and interact with autistic children to recognize their characteristics and learn how to deal with them.

In our study, 91.9% of participants did not attend any campaign about ASD, and in the Al-Taif study, sixth-year students did not attend any campaigns about ASD. It is essential that participants attend such campaigns to increase their awareness of and interaction with the autistic community.

In the current study, 71.1% of participants knew that autism is a genetic disorder. In the Al-Taif study, all of the neuropsychiatrist residents knew that autism is a genetic disorder. In the latter study, sixth-year medical students (61.3%) knew that autism is a genetic disorder, whereas only second-year medical students (16.7%) knew autism is a genetic disorder. These results show the importance of including more topics and discussions relating to autism in the nursing curriculum.

From the literature, it was evident that few studies have been conducted in KSA among nursing students. Thus, the current study filled an important gap. Nurses are the first point of contact with patients, and they play a major role in supporting patients and their relatives. It is hoped that this research will help ensure that nursing students have comprehensive knowledge about autism in the future. Professional nurses can use this study's results to develop an effective educational program and to provide appropriate diagnosis and treatment.

Limitations
This study has some limitations. First, only female students participated in the study. Second, the data collection method involved a self-administered questionnaire, which is subject to bias. Also, there is a lack of generalizability as the data is collected from a single setting.

Conclusions
Nursing students have little knowledge about ASD, and this knowledge is obtained mostly from the media. Additionally, the results of this study showed that most participants had heard about ASD and had seen a child with autism in their community. Most participants believed that ASD likely results from poor parenting and genetic factors. Some participants believed that most autistic children are girls. Regarding attending campaigns about ASD, almost none of the participants had attended such a campaign. Integrating comprehensive ASD awareness training into nursing education will equip future healthcare professionals with the knowledge, skills, and empathy needed to provide competent and compassionate care to children with ASD and their families.