Prevalence and correlates of missed first appointments among outpatients at a Psychiatric Hospital in Nigeria

Abstract

Background:Missed appointments are common in psychiatric practice. It compromises quality of care, results in poor treatment outcomes and drains financial resources. In Nigeria, where mental health services are poorly organized, missed appointments and its resultant consequences may be burdensome.Aim:This study sought to determine the prevalence and factors (sociodemographic and clinical) associated with missed clinic appointments at a regional psychiatric hospital.Subjects and Methods:A study on a cohort of patients attending the Outpatient Clinics for the first time between June and September 2011 was conducted. We interviewed each participant at their first presentation then tracked through case records to determine adherence to scheduled first clinic appointments after 4 weeks. A questionnaire was used in eliciting sociodemographic characteristics, clinical variables, and patient/caregiver satisfaction with treatment. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the data and inferential statistics to test associations using the SPSS 16.Results:Three hundred and ten patients were recruited over the study period. The prevalence of missed first appointment was 32.6% (101/310). Participants who were single (P = 0.04), living alone (P < 0.01) or aggressive (P < 0.01) were more likely to miss their first appointment. However, having received previous treatment for a psychiatric illness (P = 0.02) and having comorbidity (P = 0.05) was associated with less likelihood to miss a first appointment. A binary logistic regression analysis showed that having received previous treatment independently predicted a less likelihood to miss first appointment (P = 0.03).Conclusion:Quite a proportion (32.6%) of patients attending outpatient clinics miss scheduled clinic appointments. Receiving previous psychiatric care predicted adherence to scheduled appointment.

Prevalence, factors and reasons associated with missed first appointments among out-patients with schizophrenia at the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Benin City

“…The prevalence of missed first out-patient clinic appointments obtained in this study is similar to that found by a previous study in the same setting, 24 although the study population in the latter consisted of patients with different psychiatric disorders. It is also consistent with the range of values obtained in other studies on out-patient default (17–46%).…”

Mental health care and delivery system at Temeke hospital in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

“…Time spent with care providers was considered too short by patients. Other studies have reported long waiting time caused by delays in moving from one service point to another, attitudes of staff, and low staff-patient ratio [40, 41]. May be, low staff-patient ratio could explain the delay in seeing patients as a result of increasing number of patients as discussed in the following paragraph.…”

Dropout rates and factors associated with dropout from treatment among elderly patients attending the outpatient services of a tertiary care hospital

“…In terms of missed appointments, data from general adult clinics suggest that the rates range from 14% to 64%. [ 4 6 7 8 ] The dropout rates reported across various studies also suggest that about 31%–64% of patients do not come back for their first outpatient appointments after hospitalization, with an average nonattendance rate being 50% for the initial appointments. [ 6 7 9 10 ]…”