Comparison of agreement with statement about diagnostic processes and services between paediatricians and other health professionals
| Round 1% agreement (IQD) | Round 2% agreement (IQD) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Statement | n | Paediatrician | Other | p Value* | n | Paediatrician | Other | p Value* |
| 1. Evaluation by a general or subspecialist paediatrician or clinical geneticist is required to confirm the diagnosis of a FASD | 67 | 77.4 (1) | 72.2 (2) | 0.63 | 56 | 79.2 (0) | 78.1 (1) | 0.93 |
| 2. Evaluation by a general or subspecialist paediatrician or clinical geneticist is required to exclude alternative diagnoses | 71 | 73.5 (2) | 89.2 (1) | 0.09 | 57 | 87.5 (1) | 90.9 (1) | 0.69† |
| 3. With appropriate FASD-specific training, general practitioners can confirm the diagnosis of a FASD | 69 | 46.9 (2) | 43.2 (2) | 0.76 | – | – | – | – |
| 4. With appropriate FASD-specific training, general practitioners can exclude alternative diagnoses | 67 | 25.8 (2) | 36.1 (2) | 0.36 | – | – | – | – |
| 5. With appropriate FASD-specific training, general practitioners in rural and remote settings can confirm the diagnosis of a FASD‡ | – | – | – | – | 57 | 58.3 (2) | 63.6 (2) | 0.69 |
| 6. With appropriate FASD-specific training, general practitioners in rural and remote settings can exclude alternative diagnoses‡ | – | – | – | – | 57 | 37.5 (2) | 48.5 (2) | 0.41 |
| 7. Diagnosis of FASD should involve multidisciplinary assessment by FASD accredited paediatricians and other health professionals (eg, social worker, psychologist, speech pathologist, occupational therapist, physiotherapist and nurse practitioner) | 72 | 70.6 (2) | 89.5 (1) | 0.04 | – | – | – | – |
| 8. A multidisciplinary FASD assessment clinic should be available in major cities | 73 | 78.8 (1) | 95.0 (0) | 0.07† | – | – | – | – |
| 9. Scheduled visits by FASD assessment teams to regional centres should be used to perform FASD screening and diagnosis | 70 | 54.5 (1) | 94.6 (1) | <0.001 | – | – | – | – |
| 10. Scheduled visits by FASD assessment teams to regional centres should be used to support workforce training and development for FASD screening and diagnosis | 71 | 78.8 (0) | 100 (0) | 0.003 | – | – | – | – |
| 11. Telehealth should be used by FASD assessment teams to support FASD screening and diagnosis | 70 | 68.8 (2) | 86.8 (1) | 0.07 | – | – | – | – |
*χ test for independence by occupation (paediatrician vs other occupation).
†Fisher's exact test.
‡New statements added to the round 2 questionnaire.
Statements that reached 70% agreement (‘agree’ or ‘strongly agree') for the total sample are presented in italic.
FASD, fetal alcohol spectrum disorders; IQD, interquartile deviation.