Gillions, Amy;
(2023)
The Healthcare Experiences of Middle and Older Age Autistic Women: A Thematic Analysis.
Doctoral thesis (D.Clin.Psy), UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
Aims: Autistic women show a higher prevalence of physical and mental health conditions compared to both autistic men and non-autistic women. They present with greater mortality and suicide risk and have a high proportion of unmet healthcare needs. Despite this, little is known about how autistic women experience healthcare services in middle and later life. The aim of this study was to qualitatively explore the perspectives of middle and older aged autistic women on their healthcare experiences. Method: Fifteen middle to older age autistic women participated in semi-structured interviews about their experiences of accessing healthcare services. Interviews were analysed using thematic analysis alongside some quantitative measures of autism traits, health status and health literacy to characterise the sample. Results: Five main themes were generated using thematic analysis: 1) Stigma and stereotypes in professionals’ understanding of autism, 2) Intersectionality, 3) Accumulation of negative healthcare experiences, 4) Efforts required to navigate healthcare systems and 5) Future: age-related concerns and hopes for change. Conclusions: Multiple barriers to accessing healthcare were reported by the autistic women in this study and participants felt stigmatised by repeated negative interactions with healthcare providers. Age and gender were important in how participants felt they were perceived in healthcare settings related to autism stereotypes. Implications for services and directions for future research are discussed.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | D.Clin.Psy |
| Title: | The Healthcare Experiences of Middle and Older Age Autistic Women: A Thematic Analysis |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2023. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10176585 |
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