A Systematic Review of The Effectiveness of Diagnostic Tools in Assessing Autism Spectrum Disorder among Children in Africa.
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Date
2024
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Daystar University, School of Applied Human Sciences
Abstract
In Africa, there is poor funding and strained health infrastructure resulting in few trained health personnel and the scarcity of diagnostic tests for assessing Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The diagnostic tests available are developed in the West, are expensive, and require adaptation to be effective in Africa. This review was conducted to determine which diagnostic tests for assessing ASD are used in Africa. The specific objectives of this study were to examine the choice of diagnostic tools for ASD assessment in Africa, to determine what adaptations have been made to make the diagnostic tests more effective, and to make recommendations based on the study findings. The theoretical background of this study is based on the Social Ecological Model by Urie Bronfenbrenner and the Cognitive Learning Theory by Jean Piaget. They bring out the importance of community and innovation in developing an ASD diagnostic plan. The study conducted a systematic review of studies done in Africa from January 2009 to July 2024. The studies selected involved children 10 years or younger being assessed for ASD, that utilize a diagnostic tool for ASD and may have made adaptations to that diagnostic tool to make it more effective. 2428 studies were obtained from searches in PubMed, CINAHL via EBSCO, the Cochrane Library, African Journals Online, Google Scholar, grey literature, and reference searches using keywords obtained using the PICO tool. After critical appraisal using the JBI checklist, 29 studies were selected, and the data was summarized and reported using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). This study found that there was an upsurge of research into suitable ASD diagnostic tools and that healthcare providers have been innovative in coming up with strategies to overcome limited resources in the assessment of ASD. Diagnostic tests for assessing ASD in Africa have been adapted linguistically and culturally to enable them to be more effective in the local context. In addition, locally adapted diagnostic tests are being utilized in Africa with minimal adaptation and easy administration. Effective diagnosis of ASD will mean early intervention and better outcomes for children with ASD in Africa. This review recommends that healthcare practitioners in Africa adopt the adapted diagnostic tools enumerated in this study since these have been developed with the African context in mind. It was recommended that more research on diagnostic tools for ASD in Africa is necessary to better inform the development of a diagnostic strategy. More collaboration between African states could lead to the development of a unified strategy with shared resources and research. Several studies in the review illustrated the utility of screening and surveilling children during their clinic visits. In addition, a strategy needs to be developed to detect those older children with ASD who were missed due to a lack of screening programs. Africa is waking up to the need to understand the ASD burden better and to come up with an effective collaborative strategy to diagnose, intervene, and manage ASD in children.
Description
MASTERS in Clinical Psychology
Keywords
Poor funding, Strained health infrastructure, Health personnel, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Citation
Mbithi, J. (2024). A Systematic Review of The Effectiveness of Diagnostic Tools in Assessing Autism Spectrum Disorder among Children in Africa. Daystar University, School of Applied Human Sciences.