Dr Claire Planner

Optimising general practice support for autistic adults: a realist review protocol - Systematic Reviews Background Mental and physical health conditions are more common in autistic than non-autistic people, including anxiety, depression, suicidality, gastrointestinal problems, cancer, epilepsy, and heart disease. General practice is often the first point of contact for patients, yet research has found that autistic people face barriers to healthcare, report lower satisfaction with healthcare, and have more unmet health needs than non-autistic people. This can be due to misunderstandings about the needs of autistic people, different communication styles, the clinic environment, and challenges making and getting to appointments, compounded by slow dissemination of research findings. Our aim is to find out how, why, and to what extent general practice supports autistic adults with and without intellectual disabilities (ID) throughout their lives, in order to suggest improvements to practice. Methods We will conduct a realist review which is a theory-driven systematic review. Electronic databases will be searched including MEDLINE, PsycInfo, EMBASE, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, CINAHL, Scopus, ASSIA and grey literature sources (e.g. Google Scholar). To be included articles must concern general practice, autistic adults aged 18 and over, contain information relevant to a UK setting, and be written in English. Any study design or article type may be included and articles will be assessed for relevance and rigour. In line with realist synthesis methods we will identify relevant contexts, mechanisms and outcomes and develop a programme theory to explain how, why, and when general practice optimally supports (or not) autistic adults. We will also seek to identify resources that are available for and used by general practice to support autistic adults. We will involve stakeholders in each stage of the review including autistic individuals, family members, and healthcare professionals (including general practice staff). The review will be reported in line with the RAMESES publication standards. Discussion The findings will inform guidance for i) general practice about potentially helpful adaptations to service, and ii) autistic people to help them gain the support they need. This will help to improve access to and engagement with general practice care, and thus potentially improve the health and wellbeing of autistic individuals. Systematic review registration PROSPERO CRD42024545403.

📢 Delighted to see the protocol paper for our realist review has now been published. In this review we are looking at how general practice supports #autistic adults (or not)- when, how, & in what circumstances. This paper describes the steps we're taking (Cont. ⬇️)

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

03.10.2025 06:19 — 👍 16    🔁 10    💬 2    📌 0

Can you share @kellybirtwell.bsky.social ☺️

24.09.2025 15:01 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

A flyer showing the University of Manchester logo, and a photograph of a man and woman holding hands dancing. The text reads as follows: Research opportunity! The Ada study, Access to Dance for Autistic adults. Researchers at The University of Manchester seek autistic volunteers to talk about dance. Are you: 1. Autistic (diagnosed or self-identifying)? 2. Aged 18 or over? 3. Living in the UK? This study is exploring how autistic adults experience dance in different settings: at home (e.g. having a boogie in the kitchen), socially, or in a dance class. We want to interview autistic adults with different types of dance experience. You can take part in one of three ways: by zoom (speaking or using the chat function), in-person: at the University of Manchester, or by telephone. This research has been developed with autistic project advisors. To find out more contact: Claire.Planner@manchester.ac.uk

📢 The Ada interview study is recruiting! We want to interview #autistic adults aged 18+ about dancing at home (kitchen disco anyone?), out socially, or at a dance class 💃🕺 To find out more/take part, email: claire.planner@manchester.ac.uk
The study has been designed with autistic project advisors.

24.09.2025 14:57 — 👍 6    🔁 5    💬 3    📌 0

Any reposts of the above would be appreciated ⬆️ @k2mey.bsky.social @kathyleadbitter.bsky.social @tracyepton.bsky.social @autisticrealms.bsky.social

12.08.2025 21:10 — 👍 6    🔁 1    💬 1    📌 0

A flyer showing the University of Manchester logo, and a photograph of a man and woman holding hands dancing. The text reads as follows: Research opportunity! The Ada study, Access to Dance for Autistic adults. Researchers at The University of Manchester seek autistic volunteers to talk about dance. Are you: 1. Autistic (diagnosed or self-identifying)? 2. Aged 18 or over? 3. Living in the UK? This study is exploring how autistic adults experience dance in different settings: at home (e.g. having a boogie in the kitchen), socially, or in a dance class. We want to interview autistic adults with different types of dance experience. You can take part in one of three ways: by zoom (speaking or using the chat function), in-person: at the University of Manchester, or by telephone. This research has been developed with autistic project advisors. To find out more contact: Claire.Planner@manchester.ac.uk This project has been reviewed and approved by the University of Manchester Research Ethics Committee. Ref.: 2025-23054-42792.

Building on our survey study, we want to interview #autistic adults aged 18+ about dancing at home (kitchen disco anyone?), out socially, or at a dance class 💃🕺 To find out more and take part, email: claire.planner@manchester.ac.uk This study has been designed with autistic project advisors. #dance

12.08.2025 20:51 — 👍 12    🔁 13    💬 1    📌 1

A flyer showing the University of Manchester logo, and a photograph of a man moving his arms, dancing. The text reads as follows: Research opportunity! The Ada study Access to Dance for Autistic adults. Researchers at The University of Manchester seek autistic volunteers for an online survey about dance. Are you: 1. Autistic (diagnosed or self identifying)? 2. Aged 18 or over? 3. Living in the UK? We are exploring autistic people’s experience of dancing - or choosing not to dance. Dance can mean anything from having a boogie in the kitchen, dancing in clubs and other social settings, to attending a dance class. The online survey takes about 30-60 minutes depending on how much you’d like to share. It includes questions about your background (e.g. age and gender) and your experiences of dancing and watching dance, or choosing not to dance. Some members of the research team are neurodivergent and the survey was developed with autistic project advisors. To find out more and take part visit: https://tinyurl.com/Aut-dance Or contact: Claire.Planner@manchester.ac.ukResearch This project has been reviewed and approved by the University of Manchester Research Ethics Committee. Ref.: 2025-22235-41162

Love dancing? Hate dancing? If you're #autistic, age 18+, in the UK, please take part in our survey (designed with autistic project advisors). We want to hear about why people don't dance, dancing at home (kitchen disco anyone?), socially, or at dance classes. For more info: tinyurl.com/Aut-dance

27.05.2025 10:51 — 👍 51    🔁 50    💬 7    📌 11