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Missed Opportunities? Screening for and Diagnosis of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders by Military Family Physicians
Meghan Lewis1,2, Louis Lachman1,2, Jeanmarie Rey2
1Department of Family Medicine, Andrews Medical Group, Joint Base Andrews, MD 20762, United States.
Introduction:
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is an umbrella term describing a broad range of adverse conditions that can occur following prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE). Clinical manifestations of FASD may present with a combination of physical, neurodevelopmental, neurocognitive, and behavioral problems; each manifesting a range of severity. A military family member's health is directly related to the overall health and readiness of our military force.
Materials And Methods:
This cross-sectional study of 343 military family physicians evaluated current basic FASD knowledge, screening for PAE and FASD, and perceived limitations and willingness for ongoing education for this condition.
Results:
Just over half (56.84%) of respondents reported ≥1 hour of FASD-specific training during residency and only 19.82% of respondents reported ≥1 hour of FASD training post-residency. Only 4.08% of respondents correctly answered all 3 fundamental knowledge-based questions. Nearly two-thirds (62.39%) of respondents reported rarely or never screening for PAE. Common reasons for not screening for PAE included lack of resources, and time constraints in primary care appointments.
Conclusions:
The fundamental knowledge gap, related lack of PAE screening, and insufficient graduate medical education training identified in this study highlight the need for ongoing training regarding FASD for military family physicians. Findings may inform similar studies of FASD knowledge and screening among other groups of board-certified family physicians.
