Melamu Neo Jeanett, Tsabedze Wandile Fundo, Erasmus Petro, Schlebusch Liezl
Department of Psychology, North-West University, Mmabatho, South Africa.
Department of Psychology, University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa.
Front Psychiatry. 2024 Sep 4;15:1381160. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1381160. eCollection 2024.
There is a dearth of knowledge in South Africa about the incidence, prevalence, and effect of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Consequently, national autism data is outdated, and World Health Organization (WHO) prevalence rates are being used.
This study focused on Ngaka Modiri Molema District to explore the cultural perspective of ASD in the Setswana culture from a parental or caregiver perspective, specifically those who attended the World Health Organization Caregiver Skills Training (WHO-CST) on ASD. This qualitative study used a phenomenological design and purposively sampled 6 out of 12 participants who wererecipients of WHO-CST. Semi-structured interviews, audio recordings, and field notes were used to collect data.
The study found five main themes: understanding autism, indigenous perceptions of ASD, ways of interacting with children living with autism spectrum disorder, creating a friendly environment and symptoms of ASD.
It was concluded that there is a lack of knowledge in Setswana culture about what ASD entails, and there are still some superstitious beliefs regarding ASD, resulting in late diagnoses. ASD studies with larger sample sizes, including medical professionals and policymakers, are recommended.
南非在自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）的发病率、患病率及影响方面缺乏相关知识。因此，国家自闭症数据已过时，目前使用的是世界卫生组织（WHO）的患病率数据。
本研究聚焦于恩加卡·莫迪里·莫莱马区，从父母或照顾者的角度，特别是那些参加过世界卫生组织自闭症谱系障碍照顾者技能培训（WHO - CST）的人，探索塞茨瓦纳文化中对自闭症谱系障碍的文化观点。这项定性研究采用现象学设计，从12名参加WHO - CST的参与者中 purposively 抽取了6名作为样本。通过半结构化访谈、录音和实地笔记收集数据。
研究发现了五个主要主题：对自闭症的理解、对自闭症谱系障碍的本土认知、与自闭症谱系障碍患儿互动的方式、营造友好环境以及自闭症谱系障碍的症状。
研究得出结论，塞茨瓦纳文化中对自闭症谱系障碍的内涵缺乏了解，并且对自闭症谱系障碍仍存在一些迷信观念，导致诊断延迟。建议开展样本量更大的自闭症谱系障碍研究，纳入医学专业人员和政策制定者。 （注：purposively这个词在原文语境下，推测可能是“有目的地”之类的意思，但由于没有更多背景信息，无法准确翻译，所以保留英文）
