Characteristics of non-attendance in 1262 children visiting an orthopedic clinic in Israel

Year 2011, Volume: 3 Issue: 3, 2 - 7, 20.07.2011

Arnon Cohen , Jacob Dreıher

Abstract

Background and aims: Non-attendance at outpatient clinics is a problem facing every specialty of medicine, and is particularly important in orthopedics ambulatory clinics. We investigated the characteristics of non-attendance in children visiting an orthopedic clinic.
Material and Methods: Non-attendance characteristics were observed for a period of one year in children visiting an ambulatory orthopedic clinic. The parameters extracted were: age, sex, treating orthopedist, waiting time, and timing of the appointment. Chi-square tests were used to analyze statistically significant differences of categorical variables. Logistic regression was used for multivariate analyses.
Results: The study included 1262 first-time visits to the orthopedic clinic. The overall proportion of non-attendance was 27.7%. There was 29.8% non-attendance in females and 26.2% in males (p>0.05). Non-attendance was 27.9% in patients younger than 2 years, 33.8% in patients between 2 and 12 years, and 23.2% in patients above 12 years of age (p=0.001). The proportion of non-attendance was 24.1% when there was a short waiting time for an appointment (7 days or less) and 31.9% when the waiting time was more than 7 days (p=0.002). Non-attendance was 15.9% in rural Jewish, 25.8% in urban Jewish, and 32.6% in Bedouin patients (p=0.002). A multivariate logistic regression model demonstrated that the age of the patient, waiting time for an appointment, and ethnic origin of the patient were significantly associated with non-attendance.
Conclusion: The factors that determine non-attendance in pediatric orthopedic patients are the age of the patient, waiting time for an appointment, and ethnic origin of the patient.

Keywords

Non-Attendance, Orthopedic Clinic, Pediatric, Non-show

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