Nursing faculty readiness to teach about autism spectrum disorder.

BACKGROUND: Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) experience a variety of challenges within healthcare settings. Meeting the unique health needs of this population requires innovative approaches to providing nursing care, which starts with understanding ASD and related best care practices. Nursing faculty are pivotal in preparing future nurses to meet these needs, but must possess adequate knowledge of ASD and comfort with providing care to this population to effectively teach nursing students. PURPOSE: The purpose of this project was to measure nurse faculty knowledge and comfort level relating to ASD. METHODS: A cross-sectional descriptive survey was conducted among nurse faculty teaching in various types of nursing programs in the United States. Recruitment was performed using multiple methods to capture a large and diverse sample. The survey included demographic information, the Autism Stigma and Knowledge Questionnaire (ASK-Q), Autism Spectrum Knowledge Scale Professional Version-Revised (ASKSP-R), and a series of expert-reviewed questions on faculty level of comfort or experience with various aspects of ASD, such as teaching about best practices, teaching students with ASD, and caring for individuals with ASD. RESULTS: The survey was completed by 212 faculty. Responses indicated varying levels of knowledge and comfort relating to ASD, highlighting significant gaps in training and preparation among educators. CONCLUSION: There is a need for enhancing nurse faculty comfort level, training, and preparation for teaching about or providing care for individuals with ASD.