A Novel Provider-Focused Training Program to Serve Transition-Age Youth and Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Abstract
This project is aligned with two of the Fiscal Year 2018 Autism Research Program Idea Development Award areas of interest: (1) training healthcare providers to deliver better care to people on the autism spectrum and (2) developing ways to treat people on the autism spectrum as they transition to adulthood. Our project focuses on adults with autism, as there is a critical need for care in this age range, with about 500,000 people with autism turning 18 years old each year. Our novel training program will use video technology to create a learning network. This network will consist of healthcare providers in local communities who meet through regular video sessions with a team of experts. During these video sessions, community healthcare providers present their own cases to the expert team for advice. The healthcare providers also listen to short lectures by the expert team on topics relevant to caring for adults with autism. These lectures will include (1) how to identify autism in adults; (2) strategies for supporting adults with autism during a clinic visit; (3) management of co-occurring psychiatric and medical conditions (for example, depression, sleep, or gastrointestinal problems); (4) supporting families of adults with autism; and many others. Our training program is called ECHO Autism: Transition/Adult Healthcare Training for Primary Care Clinicians. It will increase the number of healthcare providers who can provide high-quality care to adults with autism, including in areas distant from large health centers, such as rural and military communities. To achieve the goals of our project, in year 1, we will first seek input from parents and caregivers of adults with autism and adults on the autism spectrum themselves. We will also seek input from healthcare providers. We will obtain this input through focus groups with parents/caregivers of adults with autism (3 groups, n˜24 caregivers) and with healthcare providers (3 groups, n˜24 providers), while individual interviews will be conducted with adults with autism (n˜20). We will use this input to develop ECHO Autism: Transition/Adult Healthcare Training for Primary Care Clinicians. In years 2 and 3, we will test how well the training program works. We will do an initial trial run of the training program with 25 healthcare providers. After the first trial run, we will discuss the program with parents, caregivers, healthcare providers, and adults with autism. We will make improvements based on what we learn and then do a second trial run with another group of 25 healthcare providers. At the end of the project, we will have a well-developed training program that we can then use with a much larger number for healthcare providers. Our project is innovative in being the first training model of its kind to improve access to healthcare for adults with autism, a group of people who have had trouble receiving quality healthcare. We are also seeking the advice of adults with autism in putting together our training program, which is a unique aspect of our project. Including the voices of adults on the autism spectrum will help us make sure our program addresses their needs and desires. Our project is impactful, given that a half-million people on the autism spectrum are turning 18 years old over the next decade. Those on the autism spectrum will benefit in terms of improved healthcare quality and access. The primary care providers will also benefit in terms of increased knowledge, comfort, and competence. While we will need to test our program in future work, we believe that the healthcare system will also benefit in terms of decreased costs (specialist visits, emergency department visits, hospital stays) and higher-quality care from our ECHO model.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Nov 19, 2019
- Source ID
- W81XWH1910580
Entities
People
- Beth Malow
Organizations
- United States Army
- Vanderbilt University