Journal Article

Construct validity for the self-reported competency and sub-construct associated characteristics of Romanian physicians in autism spectrum disorder

Rad, Florina, Hessabi, Manouchehr, Dobrescu, Iuliana, Kim, Sori, Gillani, Shezeen, Stancu, Mihaela, Rahbar, Mohammad H.

2021

Overview

Background Lack of physicians’ knowledge regarding mental health, including Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) could have adverse effects on affected individuals’ health and quality of life. The purpose of this study was to provide construct validity for a modified questionnaire in order to determine the self-reported competency for underlying sub-constructs in ASD, make inferences on perceived competence in ASD based on a sample of Romanian physicians, and identify physicians’ characteristics associated with these sub-domains of competency. Methods For this survey, we modified a questionnaire that was used in Pakistan and Turkey, and administered it to a sample of 383 practicing physicians in Romania to assess their perceived competency regarding ASD. Exploratory factor analysis on 12 knowledge questions revealed five sub-domains: stigma, potential causes, children’s behavior, misconceptions, and educational needs associated with ASD knowledge. Using General Linear Models, we determined physicians’ characteristics that predict the total competency score and various competency sub-scores. Results Seventy-five percent of the responding physicians were female and 30% had over 30 years practicing medicine. The majority (73–94%) of physicians have correctly responded to some basic questions regarding knowledge about ASD. We also found that younger physicians were more knowledgeable about potential causes of ASD than older physicians (Adjusted Mean Score (AMS): 2.90 vs. 2.18, P  < 0.01), while older physicians knew more about the behavior of children with ASD (AMS: 0.64 vs. 0.37, P  = 0.02). We found a significant interaction ( P  < 0.01) between television as source of ASD knowledge and city where the clinic is located in relation to knowledge of the physicians regarding stigma related to ASD. However, the total score was not associated with the variables associated with sub-domains. Conclusion Using factor analysis, we demonstrated construct validity of five sub-domains related to Romanian physicians’ knowledge about ASD that include stigma, potential causes, behavior in ASD children, special education needs, and misconceptions related to ASD. The lack of significant association of the knowledge of physicians on ASD neither with the Psychiatry nor the Pediatric ward rotations at medical school may support the need for improving the curriculum on ASD in Romanian medical schools.

• Publisher: BioMed Central,BioMed Central Ltd,Springer Nature B.V,BMC
• Subject: Attitudes / Autism / Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) / Autism Spectrum Disorder - diagnosis / Autism Spectrum Disorders / Check Lists / Child / Child & adolescent psychiatry / Children & youth / Clinical competence / Competence / Competency of physicians / Construct Validity / Construct validity, Factor analysis / Core curriculum / Data entry / Demographic aspects / Diagnosis / Education / Evaluation / Factor Analysis / Families & family life / Family (Sociological Unit) / Family physicians / Female / Focus Groups / Health Programs / Humans / Inferences / Interviews / Knowledge / Medical Education / Medical Schools / Medical students / Mental disorders / Mental health / Pediatrics / Pervasive developmental disorders / Physicians / Psychiatry / Psychometrics / Quality control / Quality of Life / Questionnaires / Research Article / Romania / Self Report / Semi Structured Interviews / Study and teaching / Theory of Medicine/Bioethics / Urban Areas / Validation studies / Validity