JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

A strong primary care system is vital to overall health. The bulk of research around the primary care of people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is focused on children. A synthesis of the existing literature related to the quality of primary care for the adult population with ASD will elucidate what is known about the topic as well as inform future research and clinical practice.

Objective:

The purpose of this scoping review is to describe what is known about the quality of primary care for adults with ASD and identify knowledge gaps.

Methods:

Prior to beginning the literature search, the authors’ reviewed literature related to defining both primary care and primary care quality to establish the context and concept of the research question. The search strategy was designed and executed by a research librarian. The Medline, CINAHL, EMBASE, PsycINFO and Proquest Dissertations and Thesis databases were searched for relevant literature. Grey literature will include relevant reports from government websites and associations with a focus on ASD. Two members of the research team will independently screen the academic and grey literature. Studies that make it past full-text review will undergo data extraction and quality appraisal by two independent reviewers. Data extraction results will be presented in a tabular format to clearly present what is known about the quality of primary care for adults with ASD. This analysis will be accompanied by a narrative synthesis. This scoping review will follow guidance proposed by the Joanna Briggs Institute.

Results:

The results from this scoping review are expected to be available by summer 2021.

Conclusions:

The results from this scoping review will be useful for guiding future research on the quality of primary care for adults with ASD.