Building Professional Competence in Autism Care: Results From a Pilot Continuing Education Program in Kazakhstan

Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) require coordinated, multidisciplinary care, yet professional training for healthcare providers in Kazakhstan remains limited. We aimed to develop, pilot, and evaluate a continuing education program to enhance knowledge and skills in ASD detection, management, rehabilitation, and family support.

A multidisciplinary team, including public health specialists, neurologists-rehabilitologists, a general practitioner, a psychologist, and parents of children with ASD, designed the program based on a review of national and international continuing education curricula. The program was aligned with Kazakhstan's postgraduate medical education framework and received ethical approval. Pilot training was conducted in Astana with 49 healthcare professionals across two cohorts. Participants' knowledge and skills were assessed before and after training using structured questionnaires measuring diagnostic classification knowledge, understanding of ASD subtypes, multidisciplinary care roles, referral pathways, and family support competencies.

The 60-hour program effectively improved participants' knowledge and clinical understanding. Correct identification of ASD in ICD-10 increased from 87.8% to 92.7%, while correct identification in ICD-11 increased from 73.5% to 87.8%; uncertainty regarding ICD-11 classification decreased from 24.5% to 0%. Knowledge of ASD subtypes increased, and recognition of multidisciplinary care leadership rose from 28.6% to 46.3%. Participants also reported enhanced understanding of team roles, referral pathways, and tools for providing psychological support to families, facilitating more effective and timelier ASD care.

The pilot program demonstrates that structured, multidisciplinary training can significantly improve healthcare professionals' knowledge and preparedness for managing children with ASD and supporting their families. This approach provides a scalable model for continuing professional development in Kazakhstan and similar settings.