Loizou, Sofia, Pemovska, Tamara, Stefanidou, Theodora, Foye, Una, Cooper, Ruth, Kular, Ariana, Greenburgh, Anna, Baldwin, Helen, Griffiths, Jessica, Saunders, Katherine R K, and others. (2024) Approaches to improving mental healthcare for autistic people: systematic review. BJPsych open, 10 (4). Article Number e128. ISSN 2056-4724. (doi:10.1192/bjo.2024.707) (KAR id:106886)
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| Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1192/bjo.2024.707 |
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Abstract
Autistic people have a high likelihood of developing mental health difficulties but a low chance of receiving effective mental healthcare. Therefore, there is a need to identify and examine strategies to improve mental healthcare for autistic people. To identify strategies that have been implemented to improve access, experiences of care and mental health outcomes for autistic adults, and to examine evidence on their acceptability, feasibility and effectiveness. A co-produced systematic review was conducted. MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINHAL, medRxiv and PsyArXiv were searched. We included all study designs reporting acceptability or feasibility outcomes and empirical quantitative study designs reporting effectiveness outcomes. Data were synthesised using a narrative approach. A total of 30 articles were identified. These included 16 studies of adapted mental health interventions, eight studies of service improvements and six studies of bespoke mental health interventions developed for autistic people. There was no conclusive evidence on effectiveness. However, most bespoke and adapted approaches appeared to be feasible and acceptable. Identified adaptations appeared to be acceptable and feasible, including increasing knowledge and detection of autism, providing environmental adjustments and communication accommodations, accommodating individual differences and modifying the structure and content of interventions. Many identified strategies are feasible and acceptable, and can be readily implemented in services with the potential to make mental healthcare more suitable for autistic people, but important research gaps remain. Future research should address these and investigate a co-produced package of service improvement measures.
| Item Type: | Article |
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| DOI/Identification number: | 10.1192/bjo.2024.707 |
| Additional information: | For the purpose of open access, the author has applied a CC BY public copyright licence to any Author Accepted Manuscript version arising from this submission. |
| Uncontrolled keywords: | adults, Autism spectrum condition, adaptations, mental healthcare, mental health |
| Subjects: | H Social Sciences |
| Divisions: | Divisions > Division for the Study of Law, Society and Social Justice > School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research > Tizard |
| Funders: | National Institute for Health Research (https://ror.org/0187kwz08) |
| SWORD Depositor: | JISC Publications Router |
| Depositing User: | JISC Publications Router |
| Date Deposited: | 14 Aug 2024 14:05 UTC |
| Last Modified: | 15 Aug 2024 01:32 UTC |
| Resource URI: | https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/106886 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes) |
University of Kent Author Information
Sapiets, Suzi J.
| Creator's ORCID: |
 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0221-2731
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