A Systematic Review of What Barriers and Facilitators Prevent and Enable Physical Healthcare Services Access for Autistic Adults

Authors

David Mason, Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University
Barry Ingham, Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University
Anna Urbanowicz, Royal Melbourne Institute of TechnologyFollow
Cos Michael, London, UK
Heather Birtles, Newcastle University
Marc Woodbury‑Smith, Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University
Toni Brown, Northumberland, Tyne & Wear NHS Foundation Trust
Ian James, Campus for Ageing and Vitality, Newcastle General Hospital
Clare Scarlett, NHS North Tyneside CCG
Christina Nicolaidis, Portland State UniversityFollow
Jeremy R. Parr, Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University

Sponsor

The review was supported by funding from the Inge Wakehurst Foundation, and the UK autism research charity Autistica.

Published In

Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2019

Subjects

Autistic people -- Services, Autism -- Research -- Citizen participation

Abstract

Autistic people are more likely to: be diagnosed with a range of physical health conditions (i.e. cardio-vascular disease); experience premature mortality (for most disease categories); and experience barriers to effectively accessing healthcare. This systematic review sought to identify studies that report on barriers and facilitators to physical healthcare access for autistic people. A total of 3111 records were screened and six studies were included: two quantitative, two qualitative, and two mixed-methodology studies. Patient-provider communication, sensory sensitivities, and executive functioning/planning issues emerged as important barriers to healthcare. Recommendations for clinicians and those planning services are discussed.

Rights

© The Author(s) 2019

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Locate the Document

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-019-04049-2

DOI

10.1007/s1080 3-019-04049 -2

Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/28831

Citation Details

Mason, D., Ingham, B., Urbanowicz, A., Michael, C., Birtles, H., Woodbury-Smith, M., ... & Parr, J. R. (2019). A Systematic Review of What Barriers and Facilitators Prevent and Enable Physical Healthcare Services Access for Autistic Adults. Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 1-14.