Healthcare access for autistic adults: A systematic review

People with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have an increased susceptibility for many chronic health conditions compared with their peers. An increasing number of adolescents are transitioning from pediatric to adult healthcare services. Thus, being able to access appropriate healthcare services that can not only address specific needs of the person but enable them to better manage healthcare conditions and decrease the development of preventable disease is necessary. A systematic review was conducted to identify barriers and enablers of healthcare access for autistic adults.

The studies included in the review were quantitative and qualitative and were published between 2003 and 2019. The participants for the review are considered to be adults (over 18 years of age) with a primary diagnosis of ASD.

In total, 1290 studies were initially identified and 13 studies were included based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria outlined in a previous protocol paper. The analysis of these studies identified areas of concern to access appropriate healthcare, such as clinician knowledge, the environment, and life events.

Identifying the barriers to healthcare, highlights ways healthcare services can regulate scope of practice, the physical environment, and the process of managing health conditions, thus, autistic adults can strive for optimal health. This review contributes to peer-reviewed evidence for future research and up-to-date information when developing and piloting health interventions for autistic adults.

There are no human participants, data, or tissue being directly studied for the purposes of the review; therefore, ethics approval and consent to participate is not applicable.

PROSPERO 2018 CRD42018116093.