Date of Conferral

2023

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Health Services

Advisor

David A. Bull

Abstract

AbstractThe rising prevalence of autism among children in the United States has remained a challenge to caregivers, researchers, and healthcare providers. Medical diagnostic services struggled with inaccurate outcomes, misdiagnosis, inaccessibility, long waitlists, poor coordination, and a lack of expertise and knowledge for early intervention. There are limited studies on problems associated with diagnosing children with autism and the caregivers’ perspective on improving the services. In this qualitative phenomenological study, 10 caregivers’ perspectives on barriers to accessing medical diagnostic services, treatment, and management of children with autism and possible improvement of the services were explored. Resilience and health utilization models provided the conceptual framework to understand the phenomenon for this study. A semistructured interview explored the caregivers’ in-depth experiences in improving medical diagnostic services. The data were analyzed using NVivo descriptive software to find emerging common themes. The findings indicate the need for more funding, expanded insurance coverage, expert practitioners, timely communication and referrals, public awareness, and healthcare providers’ culturally competent training. Implications for social change through policy change include expanding insurance coverage, funding the rural Minnesota healthcare system, increasing experts such as neurologists in rural areas, and enhancing coordination and communication among private and public diagnostic services, which will benefit caregivers and children with autism.

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