Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28483821›Full record

ArticleThe British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners2017

GPs' confidence in caring for their patients on the autism spectrum: an online self-report study.

Silvana Unigwe, Carole Buckley, Laura Crane, Lorcan Kenny, Anna Remington, Elizabeth Pellicano

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 83 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
83citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

83 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Brief Report: Virtual Reality to Raise Awareness About Autism.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2025
    Trial
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Article

23 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Silvana UnigweRoyal College of General Practitioners, London.
Carole BuckleyRoyal College of General Practitioners, London.
Laura CraneCentre for Research in Autism and Education, UCL Institute of Education, University College London, London.
Lorcan KennyCentre for Research in Autism and Education, UCL Institute of Education, University College London, London.
Anna RemingtonCentre for Research in Autism and Education, UCL Institute of Education, University College London, London.
Elizabeth PellicanoCentre for Research in Autism and Education, UCL Institute of Education, University College London, London; external research associate, School of Psychology, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIn the UK, GPs play a key role in the identification and management of children, young people, and adults on the autism spectrum, but there is a paucity of research on GPs' perceptions of working with these patients.

aimTo understand GPs' perceived self-efficacy in identifying and managing their patients on the autism spectrum, and the factors affecting this. DESIGN AND

settingAn online self-report survey was developed for completion by GPs across the UK.

methodA total of 304 GPs in the UK took part. The survey collected responses on participants' background, training, and experience, both as a GP and with regard to autism, and included a 22-item knowledge of autism questionnaire, a 14-item self-efficacy scale targeting GPs' perceived confidence in identifying and managing their autistic patients, and an open question eliciting participants' experiences of working with autistic people.

resultsIn total, 39.5% (

conclusionThere is an urgent need for improved local specialist service provision alongside clearer referral pathways for diagnosis to improve both GPs' confidence in caring for their autistic patients and the healthcare experiences of autistic patients and their families. Local clinical commissioning groups are best served to assist GPs in ensuring that they can reliably detect the condition and make appropriate provisions for support.

Indexed as

Attitude of Health PersonnelInternetSelf EfficacySelf ReportAdultAgedAutistic DisorderClinical CompetenceEnglandFemaleGeneral PractitionersHealth Knowledge, Attitudes, PracticeHealth Services Needs and DemandHealth Services ResearchHumansMaleautismdiagnosisgeneral practiceidentificationmanagementmental healthprimary health care

Identifiers

PMID28483821
PMCPMC5442960

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.