Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Profile of Service Use and Barriers to Access among Brazilian Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Beatriz Lobo Araripe
,
Cecilia Montiel-Nava
ORCID logo ,
Daniela Bordini
,
Graccielle R. Cunha
,
Gabriela Garrido
,
Sebastián Cukier
ORCID logo ,
Ricardo Garcia
ORCID logo ,
Analia Rosoli
ORCID logo ,
Daniel Valdez
,
Sheila C. Caetano
ORCID logo ,
Alexia Rattazzi
ORCID logo ,
Cristiane Silvestre Paula
* ORCID logo
Version 1 : Received: 2 September 2022 / Approved: 13 September 2022 / Online: 13 September 2022 (03:18:00 CEST)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Araripe, B.; Montiel-Nava, C.; Bordini, D.; Cunha, G.R.; Garrido, G.; Cukier, S.; Garcia, R.; Rosoli, A.; Valdez, D.; Caetano, S.C.; Rattazzi, A.; Paula, C.S. Profile of Service Use and Barriers to Access to Care among Brazilian Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Brain Sci. 2022, 12, 1421. Araripe, B.; Montiel-Nava, C.; Bordini, D.; Cunha, G.R.; Garrido, G.; Cukier, S.; Garcia, R.; Rosoli, A.; Valdez, D.; Caetano, S.C.; Rattazzi, A.; Paula, C.S. Profile of Service Use and Barriers to Access to Care among Brazilian Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Brain Sci. 2022, 12, 1421.

Abstract

Delayed diagnosis and a lack of adequate care for people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are related to worse outcomes and quality of life. This study aimed to identify the profile of service use, barriers to access care, and factors related to those barriers in Brazilian families with children with ASD. A total of 927 families with ASD children (3-17 years) from five Brazilian regions completed an online version of the Caregivers Needs Survey. Results showed that the most used services were behavioral interventions and pharmacotherapy, while the most used professionals were neurologists, nutritionists, speech therapists, psychiatrists, psychologists, and pediatricians. The main barriers included waiting lists, costs, and the absence of services or treatment. Service use varied according to age, the region of residence, the type of health care system used, and the parents/caregivers' education. Access to behavioral interventions was more frequent among users of the private system/health insurance and families whose caregivers had higher education. The absence of specialized services/treatments was less frequent among residents of state capitals and families whose caregivers had higher levels of education. This study highlights how families with children/adolescents with ASD in Brazil face significant barriers to access care related to sociodemographic factors.

Keywords

Autism spectrum disorder; Low and Middle-Income Countries; Cross-Cultural; healthcare utilization; treatment barriers; child

Subject

Social Sciences, Psychology

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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