Enhancing developmental-behavioral pediatric rotations by teaching residents how to evaluate autism in primary care.
Jeffrey F Hine, Liliana Wagner, Rachel Goode and 4 others
PMID 33401941WHAT IT FOUND
Residents completing a new developmental-behavioral pediatric curriculum reported significantly higher comfort with identifying, diagnosing, and managing autism in toddlers.
They also became more likely to view primary care providers as appropriate for making diagnoses.
Key findings
01Residents reported a statistically significant increase in comfort level within every area of autism-related competency following training.
02The percentage of residents who considered it appropriate for a primary care provider to diagnose autism alone rose from 39.7% to 79.4%.
03The percentage of residents identifying lack of training as a substantial barrier dropped from 76% at pre-test to 32% at post-test.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study measured residents' perceived comfort and attitudes, not their actual clinical practice behavior or diagnostic accuracy. The survey tool used had not undergone validity testing. The study was conducted at a single large academic medical center, so results may not translate to other settings. The follow-up was immediate post-rotation, so it is unclear if the training effects sustained over time.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the increased comfort ratings as evidence that residents are now competent clinicians or that patient outcomes improved. The study measured self-reported confidence and attitudes immediately after training, not actual diagnostic accuracy or sustained practice change.