Nível de conhecimento sobre o transtorno do espectro autista pelos estudantes de medicina e psicologia

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Evaluate knowledge of undergraduate students of medicine and psychology graduation about of Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD). METHODS: This is a descriptive, cross-sectional, with students in the first and last year of medicine and first and last semester of psychology graduation. Data was collected through a structured questionnaire containing 20 questions about sociodemographic aspects, prior knowledge and technical-scientific knowledge. This research was approved by the CEP (CAAE : 50603515.6.0000.5569) . Data were analyzed using Epi Info software 7.2.0.1. RESULTS: 274 questionnaires were analyzed, which showed deficits in student knowledge about ASD, such as 100% of students in the last semester of psychology and 79% of last year of medicine underestimate the prevalence of ASD in Brazil; 33% of the last semester psychology students claim that an early diagnosis of ASD is harmful and 22.22% the cause of the TEA would be the emotional distance of parents ; 33% of final year students of medicine refer intellect above normal as an important feature for diagnosis. It has been found that there is a good knowledge of the most affected sex, the definition of the disorder and diagnostic criteria. CONCLUSION: There are still gaps in knowledge of undergraduate medical and psychology students about ASD. Understanding the magnitude and complexity of the disorder is still less than ideal, its clear that we need greater investment in this area of knowledge in universities and incentives for research on the topic.