A study exploring the autism awareness of first grade nursing and medical students in Istanbul, Turkey


LÜLECİ N. E., HIDIROĞLU S., KARAVUŞ M., Celik S., Cetiner D., Koc E., ...Daha Fazla

Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association, cilt.66, sa.8, ss.916-921, 2016 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 66 Sayı: 8
  • Basım Tarihi: 2016
  • Dergi Adı: Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.916-921
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: Autism, Awareness, Nursing students, Medical students, CHILDHOOD AUTISM, KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDES
  • Marmara Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

© 2016, Pakistan Medical Association. All rights reserved.Objective: To assess the level of awareness about childhood autism among first-grade nursing and medical students. Methods: The descriptive study was conducted at Marmara University, Istanbul, Turkey, in December 2012, and comprised first-grade nursing and medical students. Data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire. Association between categorical variables was determined and p<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Of the 175 students, 138(78.9%) were aware of autism, 14(8%) of them being highly aware and 124(70.9%) moderately aware, whereas 37(21.1%) were not aware. There was a significant difference in the awareness level as far as gender was concerned as 102(82.9%) females and 36(69.2%) males were aware (p=0.043). Moreover, 104(59.4%) participants were aware that autism was a neurodevelopmental disorder, 62(67.4%) of them being nursing and 42(50.6%) being medical students (p<0.05). Conclusion: First-grade medical and nursing students could be considered relatively well aware of autism as their awareness level was in between that of the general public and healthcare professionals.