028-23 – A vignette study comparing healthcare worker interactions with autistic and non-autistic paediatric patients during a routine medical procedure.

Misconceptions surrounding autism, particularly regarding the pain experience, are a significant factor in the unmet healthcare needs and subsequent barriers in healthcare service engagement for the autistic population. Such barriers have been documented to lead to an increased risk of negative physical and mental health outcomes for autistic people, and a subsequent increased risk of premature mortality.
The aim of this study is to assess differences in how healthcare providers perceive, and treat paediatric autistic patients compared to a non-autistic comparison group during a routine, but potentially painful, medical procedure.

To assess differences in healthcare providers interactions and perceptions, vignettes were developed in a quadrigeminal manner with a between subjects design; two patient profiles (a non-autistic patient OR an autistic patient) and two routine medical procedures (a vaccination OR venepuncture). Participants are asked to produce a detailed walk-through regarding their treatment in the fictional situation, and the factors that may influence this response are examined. Further open-ended measures of assumptions made by the participant regarding an autism diagnosis and beliefs around potential differences in pain experience are collected.

Data is first subject to a content analysis to compare participant walkthroughs. This allow for comparisons to be drawn based on indicators of ‘good practice’ between the autistic and non-autistic vignettes. T-test and ANOVAs are further used to compare participants perceptions of pain intensity and distress.

While this study is in its preliminary stages, data gathered thus far indicates higher perceived pain experience and distress expression for autistic patients compared to non-autistic patients. This is despite most participants stating that they would expect autistic patients pain to be the same. Content analysis codes are still in development.