SOCIETAL ATTITUDE TOWARD ADULTS WITH AUTISM AMONG NURSES IN AN ACUTE CARE SETTING

PLATFORM PRESENTATIONS

Objective. It is likely that the majority of the current health care workforce has not had training on the approach and management of adults with autism. As a result, today’s health care providers are inadequately prepared to provide competent and compassionate care for these patients when they are admitted into an acute care facility. The objective of this study is to objectively measure and describe the societal attitude toward adults with autism among multi-level nurses working in an acute care environment. Background. Autism is diagnosed in 1 out of every 45 children. Many of these children are aged out of pediatric care. Due to a high incidence of co-morbidities, most all of these individuals eventually will require health care in an acute care facility. The attitude of the health care provider toward these individuals can be a strong determinant of the type of care provided. Methods. This is a descriptive study to measure the societal attitude of nurses working in acute care settings related to adults with autism. Results. Forty nurses provided survey data. Results found the nurses generally had a moderate to high societal attitude towards adults with autism. However, their attitude was less positive toward providing care for these patients in the hospital setting. Conclusion. Health care providers would benefit from interventions designed to better understand adults with autism and improve their societal attitude toward these individuals as patients. Grants. None