Care and management of adults with autism spectrum disorder in family practice: difficulties experienced by general practitioners.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Few studies exist regarding the management and support of adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in family practice. Most of them concern the management of children. As a primary care professional however, the general practitioner (GP) has a role to play at every step of the autistic adult's care pathway. With this study, we sought to identify GPs' experienced difficulties in caring for and managing their adult patients with ASD. METHODS: We conducted a qualitative study of 11 French GPs caring for adults with ASD via semistructured interviews and a thematic content analysis. GPs were recruited from 5 counties of the Grand Est Region (Marne, Haute-Marne, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Meuse and Vosges). RESULTS: All of the GPs described difficulties with the diagnostic process and the lack of initial training. Most of the respondents expressed difficulties with medical consultations of patients presenting an intellectual disability (ID) and with the lack of communication between GPs and mental health specialists during the patient care process. More than half of the GPs described difficulties with referral pathways for diagnosis due to lengthy delays and patient reluctance to seek psychiatric care. More than half of the respondents also experienced difficulties with providing proper social care, and with responding to patient distress due to their healthcare experiences. CONCLUSION: Improving awareness and training about ASD in adults, as well as harmonizing the diagnostic process and referral pathways, might reduce GPs' experienced difficulties in caring for this population.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a heterogeneous and lifelong disorder, which impacts the communication and social abilities of the person, including sometimes behavioral challenges. Adults with ASD are consequently exposed to psychiatric complications such as anxiety, depression, and suicide. The general practitioners (GPs) are on the frontline providing care for these patients. However, several studies show that GPs lack confidence in their ability to provide the best care for adults with ASD. We interviewed 11 French GPs from five counties in order to identify their difficulties managing adult patients with ASD. We found that they were challenged mostly by diagnostic and referral processes, by their lack of training, and by the insufficiency of communication with mental health specialists. These results highlight the need to organize and coordinate effective training in ASD and to facilitate the care process. This work also underscores the need for more collaboration and coordination between general practice and psychiatry in regard to a disorder for which both medical fields are needed. Addressing these issues is an opportunity to improve health care experiences for both patients and GPs.

[Parental representations of children's acute appendicitis and impact on its surgical management in three departments]. / Représentations parentales de l'appendicite de l'enfant et leurs conséquences sur le traitement chirurgical.

INTRODUCTION: Appendicitis is well known by the general and medical population. Yet, the number of appendectomies varies by a factor of one to four depending on French departments.Purpose of research: This study aimed to compare, according to French schooling departments, the representations and attitudes of parents facing abdominal pain of their children, and their use of health care system. We selected three departments which have different proportions of use of appendectomy according to the DRESS's rapport of 2014. Meurthe-et-Moselle's rank is between 15.65 and 23.48/10 000 people, Seine-et-Marne's rank is between 23.48 and 31.30/10 000, and Jura's rank is superior to 31/10 000. RESULTS: 797 questionnaires were analyzed (45.2%). Significant differences exist in the answers of the three departments. Residents of the Jura region and, in a lesser measure, Seine-et-Marnaises answered differently than Meurthe-et-Mosellanses. The first two were the populations who experienced the most appendectomies and the Meurthe-et-Mosellanses the least. Parents who lived in departments of high rank of appendectomy thought more of acute appendicitis when confronted with their children's abdominal pain, and feared less of appendectomy. They were also more in favor of surgical treatment than parents from Meurthe-et-Moselle. CONCLUSION: Knowledge, attitude and use of health care system seem to influence management of acute appendicitis in children's population and can explain, at least partially, the variations of the appendectomy rate in France. Targeted information for physicians may improve the understanding of patients and reassure them if needed in the purpose of reducing this factor of influence of practices.