The Value of ECHO Autism to Primary Care Providers: Building Community and Capacity

The Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO) model has been shown to increase primary care providers' (PCPs) knowledge and self-efficacy in caring for patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Benefits of ECHO Autism participation may not be fully captured in studies measuring only quantitative outcomes. Qualitative methodology was used to explore the perceptions, meaning, and impact of ECHO Autism from the perspective of participating PCPs.

We used group level assessment, a large-group participatory, qualitative research method modified to a virtual format to explore the perceptions, meaning, and impact of the ECHO Autism program from the perspective of 6 participating PCPs, 1 family member, and 5 hub team members. Individual, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 4 ECHO Autism participants to further explore the identified themes.

Participants identified 6 primary themes corroborated by interview participants: (1) direct benefits to PCPs, (2) appreciation of the "all teach, all learn" approach, (3) sense of community, (4) value of the multidisciplinary conceptualization of care for children with ASD, (5) demystification of care for children with ASD, and (6) benefits to the PCPs' patients and their families. Feedback about ways to enhance the ECHO Autism program was categorized into 5 areas for improvement.

ECHO Autism builds a community for providers who may otherwise feel isolated and hesitant to manage complex needs of children with ASD. ECHO Autism is an innovative approach to build capacity for PCPs to provide high-quality evidence-based care to these children within their own communities.