Co-design of an NHS primary care health check for autistic adults.

Researchers worked with autistic adults, families, and doctors to design better health checks for autistic people. Participants wanted health checks to cover physical health, mental health, and social needs. They preferred being able to share their needs beforehand, book appointments online instead of by phone, and have choices like video calls or face-to-face meetings. They also wanted healthcare staff to have better autism training to understand how autistic people might experience things like pain differently.

This co-design study explored stakeholder perspectives on developing a primary care health check specifically for autistic adults. Through discussion groups and interviews with autistic adults, people with intellectual disabilities, supporters, and health professionals, researchers identified key preferences for health check design. Participants emphasized the need for comprehensive assessment covering physical health, mental health, and social wellbeing. They advocated for pre-appointment sharing of needs and reasonable adjustments, flexible communication methods including online booking and appointment options (video, email, face-to-face), and enhanced autism training for primary care staff.

The study highlighted concerns about service capacity to address identified needs and resulted in collaborative development of an NHS primary care health check framework.

Findings support implementing flexible, autism-informed primary care health checks with pre-appointment planning and multiple communication options. Enhanced autism training for primary care staff is essential. Service capacity planning needed to address potential increased demand from systematic health screening.

Sample size not reported. Study type unclear, limiting methodological assessment. Concerns raised about service capacity to meet identified needs through health checks. No outcome data on implementation effectiveness provided.

Autistic people are on average more likely to experience poor health than people who are not autistic. Health checks have been shown to improve access to effective healthcare. This study investigated people's views about a primary care health check for autistic adults. We held discussion groups and interviewed autistic adults, adults with intellectual disabilities, supporters and health professionals.

People wanted the health check to look at a person's physical and mental health, and how they were doing socially. They thought people should be able to share information about their needs and the reasonable adjustments they would like before the health check. They wanted healthcare services to change the way they communicate with autistic people, such as being able to book appointments online rather than by telephone. They wanted a choice in how the health check was completed, with video call or email offered as well as face-to-face appointments.

People thought further training of primary care staff on autism was needed, to increase awareness of the diversity of experiences of autistic people and ways in which difficulties, such as pain, may present differently to non-autistic people. Clinicians raised questions about whether mental health and social care services could meet the additional needs that might be identified through the health check. We used this information to design an NHS primary care health check for autistic people in collaboration with autistic people, supporters and health professionals.