Assessment of knowledge and attitude of technical nursing school students regarding autistic children

Abstract

Background Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impairments in reciprocal social interactions, as well as verbal and nonverbal communication deficits, with repetitive and stereotyped behaviors. When nursing students have knowledge regarding ASDs, they will be able to refer children at risk for ASD for diagnostic evaluation and intervention at the earliest possible opportunity, and also, it will enhance their attitude toward autistic children. Aim To assess knowledge and attitude of technical nursing school students regarding autistic children. Research design A descriptive correlation research design was used to conduct this study. Sample All students who finished the 5 years of technical nursing school were included in this study, representing 110 students (according to the list obtained from the technical nursing school at academic year 2018–2019). The technical nursing school at Kaser Al Aini Hospital which is affiliated to Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University was the site of the study. Patients and methods The data were collected using two tools: the first one is a student self-administered questionnaire. This tool included (a) demographic characteristics of the technical nursing school students and (b) students’ knowledge. It included questions to assess the technical nursing school students’ knowledge toward autistic children. The second tool is a technical nursing school students’ attitude scale toward autistic children. Results The mean age of the studied technical nursing students was 21.00. Most of them (90.9%) were single. There were statistically significant relations between their total level of knowledge and their level of attitude (P>0.001). There was a positive correlation between the technical nursing school students’ total score of knowledge and their total score of attitude regarding autistic children (P>0.01). Conclusion The study concluded that 45.5% of the technical nursing school students had satisfactory knowledge regarding autistic children. Overall, 76.4% of them had positive attitude regarding autistic children. Recommendations The study recommended introduction of autistic disease lecture in the curriculum of technical nursing school students from the first year and development of clinical protocols that can assist the technical nursing school students in care of autistic children positively.