Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy
Research BriefAwareness and knowledge of autism among pharmacists
Introduction
Autism is a neurodevelopmental disability that is typically associated with limitations in social interaction, communication, and behavioral development.1 Because of increasing prevalence, autism is widely considered to be an emerging public health concern.2 Recent studies have found the prevalence of autism to be ∼1% among children in the United States.3 Autism is more prevalent than juvenile diabetes, pediatric cancer, and pediatric AIDS combined.4 Autism occurs because of an interaction of genetic and environmental factors,5 and is 3-4 times more prevalent among males than females.6 Currently, there is no cure for autism7; however, there are pharmacological and nonpharmacological treatment options available to alleviate the symptoms associated with this disorder.
Pharmacotherapy is becoming an increasingly important treatment component in autism, especially about managing behavioral problems such as aggressiveness, anxiety, hyperactivity, and tantrums. Although only 2 drugs, risperidone and aripiprazole are indicated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to manage behavioral symptoms associated with autism, studies have found a generally high use of prescription medications in this population.8, 9, 10, 11 In 1 study, the use of psychotropic or nonpsychotropic drugs among individuals 10-48 years of age with autism was found to be as high as 81%.9 In another study, Mandell et al8 found 56% of children with autism enrolled in Medicaid program to have 1 or more prescription for psychotropic drugs. Commonly used psychotropic drug classes among individuals with autism include antipsychotics, stimulants, antidepressants, and anxiolytics.8
Given the recent trends in increasing autism prevalence and the high use of medications in this population, it is reasonable to suggest that pharmacists are likely to encounter more and more families of individuals with this disorder. Being a key player in the health care arena, pharmacists could play an important role in the care of individuals with autism and their caregivers by familiarizing themselves with autism-related resources in their community and guiding families to relevant professional resources. A thorough review of the literature did not reveal any previous study that has assessed awareness and knowledge of autism among pharmacists. The purpose of this study was to determine pharmacists’ awareness and knowledge of core symptoms, etiology, and treatment of autism.
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Study design and sample
A cross-sectional survey design was used for this study. The target population of interest consisted of registered pharmacists in the state of Mississippi (MS). A mailing list (e-mail addresses) of 2543 registered pharmacists in MS was obtained from the state Board of Pharmacy. An online questionnaire was administered to these pharmacists using the Qualtrics software program (Qualtrics Inc., Provo, UT). The questionnaire was deployed on June 1, 2011 and was available through July 7, 2011. To
Results
Of the 2543 pharmacists that were targeted through e-mail, 2 were returned because of wrong e-mail address. A total of 152 pharmacists participated in the online survey; however, 5 of them had more than 15% missing data, and were removed from study analyses. The demographic- and practice-related characteristics of the final sample are listed in Table 1. When comparing the demographic- and practice-related characteristics of the early responders (those who responded to the first e-mail seeking
Discussion
From being a rare disorder just a few decades ago, autism has emerged as an increasingly important public health issue in the United States. For a complex disorder such as autism, parents are more likely to rely on health care professionals to gain further insights into its treatment. Given their ease of accessibility when compared with other health care professionals, pharmacists are in position to provide medical information support to parents of children with autism. To the best knowledge of
Conclusion
Autism is a growing public health issue, and places a significant burden on individuals with the disorder, parents, and society. As one of the few health care professionals that are easily accessible within a community, pharmacists are uniquely positioned to alleviate the burden of autism. The present study highlights gaps in pharmacists’ awareness and knowledge of autism. Despite abundant epidemiological evidence indicating a lack of relationship between vaccines and autism, close to 1 in 5
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to Drs Kathryn Drager and Julie A. Strunk for sharing their respective survey instruments and giving us the permission to use them for our study. In addition, they thank the MS Board of Pharmacy for their assistance with this study.
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