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Exploring Autism Experiences in Rural Emergency Departments in the Interior of British Columbia

Project end date: April 15, 2025

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The researcher is a University of British Columbia Okanagan Masters of Nursing Student conducting qualitative research with autistic children and their caregivers to explore experiences in rural emergency departments across the interior of British Columbia. The inclusion criteria includes primary caregivers who have accessed a rural emergency department within the last two years with their child aged 7-13 years with a DSM-4 OR DSM-5 diagnosis of autism. Participants must be comfortable speaking English.  Through recorded Zoom interviews that will last approximately 45-60 minutes, the researcher is hoping to establish the barriers and facilitators autistic children and their caregivers are experiencing in accessing care, and use this data to advocate to health authorities for increasing supports and strategies to improve health outcomes for these children. The strategies proposed will be guided by the lived experiences of these families and their voiced needs. These strategies could potentially include education for healthcare staff, including alternate care pathways to ensure the caregiver has a way to communicate individual care needs of their child, and physical supports, such as sensory toolkits. As the researcher is a mother to two autistic children, the desire to engage in this research arose from her own lived experiences of challenges accessing safe and supportive care in the emergency department.