Determination of pediatric nurses' knowledge of and attitudes towards childhood autism and CT recommendations

Objective: The study aimed to determine the knowledge levels and attitudes of nurses working in pediatric clinics on childhood autism and which complementary therapies (CT) methods they recommend to support children with autism Methods: The study was designed as a descriptive research and the data were collected online. This study was conducted with 135 pediatric nurses. Research data were collected through the Sociodemographic Information Form, the Societal Attitudes Toward Autism (SATA) Scale, and the Knowledge about Childhood Autism among Health Workers (KCAHW) Questionnaire. Results: While the mean score for the SATA scale of the nurses participating in the study was 48.46 +/- 9.84, the mean score of the KCAHW questionnaire was 8.13 +/- 3.81. The mean scores for the subdimensions of the SATA scale was 7.93 +/- 2.49 at the lowest and 28.33 +/- 6.11 at the highest. In this study, nurses suggested six different CT practices in total, with exercise being the most frequently recommended one. Conclusion: The level of knowledge on childhood autism among our participants was found to be above average. In addition, in this study, the knowledge level of pediatric nurses was related to their attitudes towards individuals with autism at a very high level. Therefore, it is recommended to prepare a guide on autism and CT suggested by the nurses. It is recommended to plan the necessary interventions to improve the knowledge and attitudes of pediatric nurses about autism and to prepare a guide about CT to be used by nurses.