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Occupational Therapy and Arts Therapies

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://eresearch.qmu.ac.uk/handle/20.500.12289/25

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Author: search.filters.author.Murray, AjaHas files: Yes

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    Factors influencing waiting times for diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder in children and adults
    (Elsevier, 2015-08-26) McKenzie, Karen; Forsyth, Kirsty; O'Hare, Anne; McClure, Iain; Rutherford, Marion; Murray, Aja; Irvine, Linda
    Aims: To identify the main factors predicting delays in diagnosis for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) at three stages in the diagnostic process: wait for first appointment; assessment duration, and total wait for diagnosis. Method: Data were gathered from 150 case notes (80 child and 70 adult cases) from 16 diagnosing services across Scotland. Results: Having more information pre-assessment was associated with a reduced duration of the diagnostic process for children. This relationship was partially mediated by a reduction in the number of contacts required for diagnosis. In adults, having more factors associated with ASD (increased risk) reduced the wait time from referral to first appointment, but increased the overall duration of the diagnostic process. The latter relationship was partially mediated by an increase in the number of contacts required for diagnosis. Conclusion: Within children's services, increasing the amount of relevant information available pre-assessment is likely to reduce total duration of the assessment process by reducing number of contacts required. Having a high risk of ASD as an adult appears to result in being seen more quickly following referral, but also to increase the number of contacts needed and assessment duration. As a result, it increases and total duration overall. 2015 Elsevier Ltd.
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    The relationship between waiting times and 'adherence' to the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network 98 guideline in autism spectrum disorder diagnostic services in Scotland
    (SAGE, 2015-06-01) McKenzie, Karen; Forsyth, Kirsty; O'Hare, Anne; McClure, Iain; Rutherford, Marion; Murray, Aja; Irvine, Linda; The Scottish Government
    The aim of this study was to explore the extent to which the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network 98 guidelines on the assessment and diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder were adhered to in child autism spectrum disorder diagnostic services in Scotland and whether there was a significant relationship between routine practice which more closely reflected these recommendations (increased adherence) and increased waiting times. Retrospective, cross sectional case note analysis was applied to data from 80 case notes. Adherence ranged from a possible 0 (no adherence)to 19 (full adherence). Overall, 17/22 of the recommendations were adhered to in over 50 of the 80 cases and in 70 or more cases for 11/22 of the recommendations, with a mean adherence score of 16 (standard deviation = 1.9). No significant correlation was found between adherence and total wait time for untransformed (r = 0.15, p = 0.32) or transformed data (r = 0.12, p = 0.20). The results indicated that the assessment and diagnostic practices were consistent with the relevant Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network 98 guideline recommendations. Increased adherence to the 19 included recommendations was not significantly related to increased total waiting times, indicating that the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network 98 recommendations have generally been integrated into practice, without a resultant increase in patient waits.