Sponsor
The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article: The study was funded by the UK autism research charity Autistica (London, UK) and the Peter Sowerby Foundation (London, UK) (grant no. 7257), and by NHS England via the Learning Disability and Autism Programme. The funders were not involved in the study design, data collection, data analysis, interpretation of data or writing this manuscript. Autistica is an NIHR Partner organisation and therefore the Health Checks for Autistic people Trial was adopted to the NIHR portfolio of studies that receive support from the Research Delivery Network.
Published In
Autism
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
10-2026
Subjects
Autism, Healthcare access
Abstract
Autistic people experience higher rates of physical and mental health conditions and face barriers to accessing healthcare. This study evaluated the acceptability and implementation of a co-designed primary care health check for autistic people (18 years+), delivered within a randomised controlled trial in Northern England investigating clinical and costeffectiveness. Following health checks, all autistic people, carers/supporters, and clinicians were invited to complete evaluation questionnaires and a subset invited for an interview. Eighty-one autistic people, 11 carers/supporters, and 18 clinicians returned questionnaires and were descriptively analysed; 44 participants were interviewed. Findings demonstrated that the pre-appointment questionnaire and health check appointment were reported to be acceptable, valued and beneficial by all groups. Carers/supporters reported positive impacts of their role in reducing anxiety and supporting communication. Interview analysis, informed by Normalisation Process Theory, highlighted important factors to consider for implementation of the health check at scale. This included the importance of providing clear guidance and resources ahead of the health check and ensuring enough funding and capacity in primary care. Health checks can be delivered to autistic people in local neighbourhoods to address heath inequalities. Health checks require adequate resources, staff training, and integration into care systems to ensure successful implementation and sustainability.
Rights
Copyright (c) 2026 The Authors
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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DOI
10.1177/13623613261433106
Citation Details
Merrick, H., Taylor, H., Ingham, B., Finch, T., Al-Ashmori, S., Herrington, R., ... & Parr, J. R. (2026). Acceptability and Implementation of a Primary Care Health Check for Autistic People: Findings From Evaluation Questionnaires and Interviews. Autism, 13623613261433106.