Impact of training in autism for primary care providers: a pilot study.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the impact of a training program on autism spectrum disorder (ASD) identification offered to Brazilian health professionals.


METHODS
Twenty-two primary care providers participated in five 3-hour weekly training sessions.


RESULTS
The trained providers significantly improved their ASD knowledge after training in comparison with pre-training (mean score, 6.73 vs. 9.18, p < 0.01). Clinical practice also changed: 4 months after the training program, the providers had referred six times as many suspected cases of ASD to a specialized mental health service in comparison with the previous 4 months.


CONCLUSIONS
This pilot training model seems a promising, feasible, and inexpensive way to improve early identification of ASD in the primary care system.
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Unit (UPIA), Department of Psychiatry, Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
Daniela
D
Bordini
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Unit (UPIA), Department of Psychiatry, Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
Rosane
R
Lowenthal
Department of Psychiatry, UNIFESP, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
Ary
A
Gadelha
Department of Psychiatry, UNIFESP, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
Gerardo M de
GM
Araujo Filho
Department of Psychiatry, UNIFESP, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
Jair de J
Jde J
Mari
Department of Psychiatry, UNIFESP, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
Cristiane S
CS
Paula
D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000193:education; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011320:Primary Health Care; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors