Autism in Viet Nam: A systematic scoping review

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience and Behavioral Science
• Global Health
• Cultural Psychiatry

Background:

• Autism research is heavily concentrated in Western countries, leaving a significant gap in understanding autism within diverse cultural settings.
• Vietnamese cultural contexts remain underrepresented in the global autism research landscape, necessitating a focused review.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically scope the landscape of autism research within Vietnamese cultural contexts.
• To evaluate the quality of existing autism research originating from or pertaining to Vietnamese settings.
• To assess the extent of autism community involvement in the research process.

Main Methods:

• A systematic scoping review was conducted to identify and analyze studies on autism in Vietnamese cultural contexts.
• Inclusion criteria were applied to a total of 137 studies.
• Quality appraisal was performed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool.

Main Results:

• A growing body of literature on autism in Vietnamese cultural contexts was identified, with 87% of studies conducted in Viet Nam.
• The primary research areas were Services and Supports (39%) and Interventions (20%).
• Key themes included the centrality of family, the importance of education, and the search for causes of autism. Quality appraisals indicated largely low-quality studies, with limited community involvement.

Conclusions:

• There is a need to enhance the quality of autism research in Vietnamese contexts and to better understand culturally relevant methods for rigor.
• Actively involving the Vietnamese autism community in the research process is crucial for future studies.
• Future research should prioritize culturally sensitive methodologies and reporting standards.