Knowledge about autism among Polish pediatricians

Monika Suchowierska , Paula Walczak

Abstract

Our current research concerns knowledge about autism among Polish pediatricians. A study was conducted in order toanswer thequestionwhat is thelevel of knowledge ofpediatriciansonautismand whetherit differsdepending on thesize of the cityin which they work. The study involveda total of 50physicians(25from Warsaw and25 ofWloclawek). All the respondents specialized in the same field, that is pediatrics. In the study, the Autism Questionnaire based on the research ofPisula (1) was used. The resultsshowed that the pediatricians’knowledgevariesdepending on the topic associatedwith autism. In case of some of the questions, the pediatriciansshowed high familiarity with the issue giving many good answers, but some areas proved to be problematicfor them. We did not show any differencein the level ofknowledge on autism amongpediatriciansfrom WarsawandWloclawek. Bothgroups had almost the same number of correct answers in the questionnaire. Summing up the resultsof this research, one can conclude that the pediatricians’ knowledgeabout autismis incomplete. Undoubtedly, such situation may have a negative impacton the diagnostic process and, in the long run, on the future of an autistic child.Providing education to medical students and practicing doctorsabout thevarious aspects of autismwould therefore bevery useful,astheir expertise will most likelylead to a better prognosis for autistic children.   Key words: autism, knowledge on autism, pediatricians, medical students