Search

Background: Within the routine practice, specific screening for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been recommended, in order to facilitate early intervention and improve outcomes. Despite the substantial advantages of this process, it has also presented a variety of challenges, across clinical settings, which have not yet been explored sufficiently. There is little information available to support the introduction of ASD screening in Oman. Research is required to identify the potential facilitators of and barriers to ASD screening in Oman, prior to the implementation of a screening programme, to ensure its successful introduction. Method: An exploratory mixed-methods design was adopted, in two sequential phases. Phase 1 involved two focus group discussions, with seven nurses and six GPs, from primary health care (PHC) settings in Oman. The participants were recruited using a purposive and snowballing technique. The discussions were audio-taped and transcribed verbatim. Framework Analysis was used to identify recurrent themes within and across groups. Data from the focus groups was then used to inform the development of a questionnaire, which was piloted on a sub-sample of volunteers from both groups. Phase two (quantitative phase) comprised of sending the final draft of the questionnaire to a random sample of primary health care providers (PHPs) (n=571) across Oman. The returned data was analysed statistically with the software program SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 22.0). The Social Ecological Model (SEM) was then applied to interpret the final data from both phases and to draw conclusions. Results: Qualitative data analysis revealed five themes, which voiced the major challenges facing ASD screening in Oman, as well as highlighting a few facilitators. The findings revealed that both nurses and GPs believed that introducing screening for ASD would be a positive step. However, they felt overwhelmed by their responsibilities and believed that

Background: Within the routine practice, specific screening for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been recommended, in order to facilitate early intervention and improve outcomes. Despite the substantial advantages of this process, it has also presented a variety of challenges, across clinical settings, which have not yet been explored sufficiently. There is little information available to support the introduction of ASD screening in Oman. Research is required to identify the potential facilitators of and barriers to ASD screening in Oman, prior to the implementation of a screening programme, to ensure its successful introduction. Method: An exploratory mixed-methods design was adopted, in two sequential phases. Phase 1 involved two focus group discussions, with seven nurses and six GPs, from primary health care (PHC) settings in Oman. The participants were recruited using a purposive and snowballing technique. The discussions were audio-taped and transcribed verbatim. Framework Analysis was used to identify recurrent themes within and across groups. Data from the focus groups was then used to inform the development of a questionnaire, which was piloted on a sub-sample of volunteers from both groups. Phase two (quantitative phase) comprised of sending the final draft of the questionnaire to a random sample of primary health care providers (PHPs) (n=571) across Oman. The returned data was analysed statistically with the software program SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 22.0). The Social Ecological Model (SEM) was then applied to interpret the final data from both phases and to draw conclusions. Results: Qualitative data analysis revealed five themes, which voiced the major challenges facing ASD screening in Oman, as well as highlighting a few facilitators. The findings revealed that both nurses and GPs believed that introducing screening for ASD would be a positive step. However, they felt overwhelmed by their responsibilities and believed that

Background: Within the routine practice, specific screening for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been recommended, in order to facilitate early intervention and improve outcomes. Despite the substantial advantages of this process, it has also presented a variety of challenges, across clinical settings, which have not yet been explored sufficiently. There is little information available to support the introduction of ASD screening in Oman. Research is required to identify the potential facilitators of and barriers to ASD screening in Oman, prior to the implementation of a screening programme, to ensure its successful introduction. Method: An exploratory mixed-methods design was adopted, in two sequential phases. Phase 1 involved two focus group discussions, with seven nurses and six GPs, from primary health care (PHC) settings in Oman. The participants were recruited using a purposive and snowballing technique. The discussions were audio-taped and transcribed verbatim. Framework Analysis was used to identify recurrent themes within and across groups. Data from the focus groups was then used to inform the development of a questionnaire, which was piloted on a sub-sample of volunteers from both groups. Phase two (quantitative phase) comprised of sending the final draft of the questionnaire to a random sample of primary health care providers (PHPs) (n=571) across Oman. The returned data was analysed statistically with the software program SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 22.0). The Social Ecological Model (SEM) was then applied to interpret the final data from both phases and to draw conclusions. Results: Qualitative data analysis revealed five themes, which voiced the major challenges facing ASD screening in Oman, as well as highlighting a few facilitators. The findings revealed that both nurses and GPs believed that introducing screening for ASD would be a positive step. However, they felt overwhelmed by their responsibilities and believed that