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Awareness and Knowledge of Autism Spectrum Disorders Among Pharmacists: A Cross-Sectional Study in Palestinian Pharmacy Practice

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Abstract

Pharmacists are trusted and easily accessible healthcare providers. We assessed awareness and knowledge of symptoms, etiology, and treatment of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) among pharmacists practicing in Palestine. The pharmacists reported low familiarity with ASDs. The median score on the 12-item knowledge section was 50.0% with an interquartile range of 16.7%. Having course(s) or lecture(s) on ASDs during pharmacy degree program was significantly associated with familiarity (p value <0.001), knowledge (p value <0.001), and confidence (p value <0.05) scores. Nearly 62% of the pharmacists reported as not feeling confident enough in their ability to counsel parents about medications used for their children with ASDs and their side effects. This study revealed gaps in awareness and knowledge of ASDs among pharmacists.

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Author Contributions

RS conceived the study and interpreted the data. BF, DQ, LS, MS and MD collected the data and interpreted the data. RS performed the statistical analysis. RS drafted the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Basel Fahed, Dana Qadri, Lamees Sharawi, Mai Soroghli, Maen Dweik have contributed equally to this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physiology, Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, An-Najah National University, New Campus, Building: 19, Office: 1340, P.O. Box 7, Nablus, Palestine

    Ramzi Shawahna

  2. An-Najah BioSciences Unit, Centre for Poisons Control, Chemical and Biological Analyses, An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine

    Ramzi Shawahna

  3. Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine

    Ramzi Shawahna, Basel Fahed, Dana Qadri, Lamees Sharawi, Mai Soroghli & Maen Dweik

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  1. Ramzi Shawahna
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  2. Basel Fahed
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  3. Dana Qadri
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  4. Lamees Sharawi
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  5. Mai Soroghli
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  6. Maen Dweik
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Correspondence to Ramzi Shawahna.

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Shawahna, R., Fahed, B., Qadri, D. et al. Awareness and Knowledge of Autism Spectrum Disorders Among Pharmacists: A Cross-Sectional Study in Palestinian Pharmacy Practice. J Autism Dev Disord 47, 1618–1627 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-017-3085-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-017-3085-5

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