Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that manifests itself in early childhood. Early diagnosis of these disorders allows for the initiation of early therapy, which is crucial for the child's further functioning in society. Objectives: This review aims to gather and present the existing ASD screening tools that can be used in primary care and adapted to different countries conditions linguistically and culturally. Eligibility criteria: We searched for English-language publications on ASD screening tools for children aged 0–3 years suitable for use in primary care (i.e. free, requiring no additional training or qualifications). Sources of evidence: Four databases were explored to find English studies on ASD screening tools intended for the rapid assessment of children aged 0–3. Charting methods: The information sought (specific features of the questionnaires relevant to primary health care workers, psychometric and diagnostic values of a given cultural adaptation of screening tools, and the linguistic and cultural changes made) were extracted and collected to create profiles of these tools. Results: We found 81 studies which met inclusion criteria and underwent full data extraction. Three additional data sources were included. These allowed to create 75 profiles of adaptations for 26 different screening tools and collect data on their psychometric values and characteristic features. Conclusions: The results of our study indicate the availability of several diagnostic tools for early ASD screening in primary care setting concordant culturally and linguistically with a given population. They could be an effective method of accelerating the diagnostic process and starting personalized therapy faster. However, most tools have significant limitations – some are only available for research purposes, while others do not have scientific evidence to prove their effectiveness.

Teleconsultation has become one of the most important and sometimes the only possible forms of communication between healthcare professionals (HCPs) and their patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. The perceptions and attitudes of HCPs to teleconsultations may affect the quality of the therapeutic process provided using them. Therefore, this study aimed to understand the attitudes to and perceptions of medical teleconsultation among various HCPs during the COVID-19 pandemic. We analyzed data from a dedicated questionnaire on preferences, attitudes, and opinions about teleconsultation, which was filled by 780 Polish HCPs. Most of the HCPs were doctors and nurses (69% and 19%, respectively); most of the doctors were family physicians (50.1%). During the pandemic, teleconsultation and face-to-face contact were reported as the preferred methods of providing medical services with similar frequency. Doctors and nurses displayed the most positive attitude toward teleconsultation while the paramedics and physiotherapists took the least positive view of it. The most frequently indicated ratio of the optimal number of teleconsultations to in-person visits in primary health facilities care was 20%:80%. Most HCPs appreciate the value of teleconsultation, and more than half of them are willing to continue this form of communication with the patient when necessary or desirable.

A screening questionnaire for autism symptoms is not yet available in Poland, and there are no recommendations regarding screening for developmental disorders in Polish primary healthcare. The aim of this study was to assess the opinions of parents and physicians on the legitimacy and necessity of screening for autism spectrum disorders, potential barriers to the implementation of the screening program, and the evaluation and presentation of the process of online ASD screening, which was part of the validation program for the Polish version of one of the screening tools. This study involved 418 parents whose children were screened online and 95 primary care physicians who expressed their opinions in prepared surveys. The results indicate that both parents and doctors perceive the need to screen children for ASD in the general population without a clear preference as to the screening method (online or in person). Moreover, online screening is considered by respondents as a satisfactory diagnostic method. Therefore, online screening may prove to be at least a partial method of solving numerous obstacles indicated by participants’ systemic difficulties including time constraints, the lack of experienced specialists in the field of developmental disorders and organizational difficulties of healthcare systems.

Background: The first stage of diagnosing autism spectrum disorders usually involves population screening to detect children at risk. This study aims to assess the predictive convergent validity of the Polish version of the Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales-Developmental Profile Infant-Toddler Checklist (CSBS-DP ITC) with the Autism Spectrum Rating Scales (ASRS), evaluate its sensitivity and specificity and assess the cut-off points for the possibility of using this questionnaire in population screening among children aged 6 to 24 months. Method: The study was conducted among 602 children from the general population who had previously participated in the earlier phase of validation of the questionnaire for Polish conditions. The collected data were statistically processed to calculate the accuracy (i.e. sensitivity, specificity) of the questionnaire. Results: In individual age groups, the sensitivity of the questionnaire varies from 0.667 to 0.750, specificity from 0.854 to 0.939, positive predictive value from 0.261 to 0.4 and negative predictive value—from 0.979 to 0.981. Screening accuracy ranges from 0.847 to 0.923 depending on the age group. The adopted cut-off points are 21 points for children aged 9–12 months, 36 for children aged 13–18 months, 39 for children aged 19–24 months. Cut-off points could not be established for children aged 6–8 months. The convergent validity values with the ASRS ranged from -0.28 to -0.431 and were highest in the group of the oldest children. Conclusions: These results indicate that the Polish version of the CSBS-DP ITC can be used as an effective tool for ASD universal screening.

Musculoskeletal disorders have a significant negative impact on the quality of life of the population. These conditions, as well as other work-related disorders, generate costs associated with treatment and work absence, which makes it a growing problem in industrialized countries. Available data from studies on individual populations of workers indicate a higher incidence of certain symptoms in these groups. Due to the lack of studies on the general population, we aimed to perform the preliminary study evaluating the occurrence of pain and work-related conditions depending on the type of occupational work among Polish employees to identify further possible areas for research. Data was collected using an electronic self-administered questionnaire, which was distributed in groups bringing together various professionals. The data obtained from 379 participants have been analyzed and divided according to performed work into sedentary, forced posture, standing, physical and requiring physical activity. Our study reveals a correlation between the frequency of work-related disorders and type of work performed in the Polish population. A significant correlation between the type of occupational work and prevalence of ankle, knee and shoulder pain, as well as heavy legs or upper limb paresthesia was found. According to our findings, female employees may be more vulnerable to lower limb symptoms. A place of residence also seems to affect the prevalence of upper back pain and heavy legs. The analysis also showed a correlation between the occurrence of hip, knee and ankle pain and the level of education of the participants. Surprisingly, lower extremity paresthesia was significantly more common among participants undertaking additional physical activity, compared to non-physically active respondents.

Background The first stage of diagnosing autism spectrum disorders usually involves population screening to detect children at risk. The aim of this study was to develop cut-off points and assess diagnostic properties for the Polish version of the Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales-Developmental Profile – Infant-Toddler Checklist for the possibility of using this questionnaire in population screening. Method The study was conducted among 602 children from the general population who had previously participated in the earlier phase of validation of the questionnaire for Polish conditions. The collected data were statistically processed to calculate the accuracy (i.e. sensitivity, specificity) of the questionnaire. Results In individual age groups, the sensitivity of the questionnaire varies from 0.667 to 0.750, specificity from 0.854 to 0.939, positive predictive value from 0.261 to 0.4 and negative predictive value - from 0.979 to 0.981. Conclusions These results indicate that the Polish version of the Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales-Developmental Profile – Infant-Toddler Checklist can be used as an effective tool for ASD universal screening.