title: A Pilot Study of Autism-Specific Care Plans During Hospital Admission.
abstract: Hospital admissions can be difficult for patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We created an autism-specific care plan (ACP) to help improve the hospital experience for patients with ASD, and we tested feasibility and acceptability and compared the experience of care for children with and without an ACP.
  
  
  
  We performed a nonrandomized, retrospective chart review of all patients with ASD and a hospital admission from January 2013 to December 2013 (n = 142) to determine feasibility of the intervention. We then mailed surveys to all 142 families to measure experience with the ACP and to compare experience of care in those who did and did not have an ACP. Using multivariable linear regression we assessed the association of experience of care with ACP use while adjusting for covariates.
  
  
  
  The ACP was well tolerated by parents and used frequently by staff. Compared with parents who did not use the ACP, parents who used the ACP reported a better experience relating to their general hospital experience (B = 1.48, P < .001) and staff attention to their child's ASD-specific needs (B = 3.07, P < .001).
  
  
  
  According to this pilot study, care plans are feasible and hold promise to improve the experience of care for children with ASD and their families in the hospital setting.
authors.affiliation: Boston Medical Center, Division of General Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts; Division of General Academic Pediatrics, MassGeneral Hospital for Children, Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Lurie Center for Autism, MassGeneral Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Lexington, Massachusetts; and sarabeth.broder-fingert@bmc.org.
authors.forename: Sarabeth
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Broder-Fingert
authors.affiliation: Biostatistics Center, and.
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shui
authors.affiliation: Lurie Center for Autism, MassGeneral Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Lexington, Massachusetts; and.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ferrone
authors.affiliation: Lurie Center for Autism, MassGeneral Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Lexington, Massachusetts; and.
authors.forename: Dorothea
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Iannuzzi
authors.affiliation: Division of General Academic Pediatrics, MassGeneral Hospital for Children, Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts;
authors.forename: Erika R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Lurie Center for Autism, MassGeneral Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Lexington, Massachusetts; and.
authors.forename: Ann
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Giauque
authors.affiliation: Lurie Center for Autism, MassGeneral Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Lexington, Massachusetts; and.
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Connors
authors.affiliation: Lurie Center for Autism, MassGeneral Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Lexington, Massachusetts; and.
authors.forename: Christopher J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: McDougle
authors.affiliation: Mongan Institute for Health Policy, MassGeneral Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Donelan
authors.affiliation: Lurie Center for Autism, MassGeneral Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Lexington, Massachusetts; and.
authors.forename: Ann
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Neumeyer
authors.affiliation: Division of General Academic Pediatrics, MassGeneral Hospital for Children, Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts;
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kuhlthau
mesh_terms: D001294:Attitude to Health; D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder / Q000628:therapy*; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D010290:Parents; D010347:Patient Care Planning; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires