Analysis of knowledge construction about autism from a nursing perspective: a scope review

Abstract

This study aimed to assess the scientific advances of publications in the field of nursing in Brazil about the autistic public. This is a bibliographical review of scope, whose data collection was carried out in the electronic scientific databases LILACS, PubMed, SCIELO, BDENF and REDIB. Inclusion criteria were studies related to the subject, of an original nature, complete and of Brazilian origin, in Portuguese, English and Spanish, with free access. Duplicate productions, articles that were not presented in full, and materials that were not of a scientific nature were excluded. Ten studies published between 2008 and 2020 were included in the scope bibliographic review. It was found that out of the total of selected studies, five were carried out with professional nurses, two were an experience report, one was conducted with academics from nursing, one was carried out with mothers of autistic children, and one was carried out with the knowledge of families of autistic children. The main reports found in the studies are focused on early diagnosis, treatment, a multidisciplinary team, parental care, the role of nurses in the school environment and the knowledge of nursing students. The gaps found are the lack of studies that show the importance of training and that address the subgroups and degrees of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). It is noteworthy that nursing has an important role in the early diagnosis of a child with ASD, in addition to monitoring and complementing their treatment together with a multidisciplinary team. However, there are still few investments in training for these professionals. Additionally, there is a shortage of studies that support the actions of nurses and support evidence-based diagnoses, thus affecting the care provided to these children and these families.