Unscheduled Appointment? Prevalence and Associated Factors in Non-communicable Disease Patient at Urban Community, Nakhon Sawan
Keywords:
non-communicable disease patient, unscheduled appointmentAbstract
Objective: To study the prevalence and explore factors associated with unscheduled appointments in non-communicable disease patients.
Method: This cross-sectional analytical study collected data from 214 chronic non-communicable patients who received treatment at health service centers within the network of Sawanpracharak Hospital. Stratified sampling was used to gather data via questionnaires, which included general information, health factors, service provision data, treatment outcomes for chronic diseases, and reasons for unscheduled appointments, which were asked only of those who missed their appointments. The data collection occurred from June to August 2023. Descriptive statistics and multivariate logistic regression analysis were used to analyze the data, presenting the results in terms of as Odds Ratio (OR) and 95% Confidence Interval (CI), with statistical significance set at a p-value less than 0.05.
Results: The average age of the sample group was analyzed. The prevalence of unscheduled appointments was 18.9%. The reasons for unscheduled appointments included believing they had recovered due to no symptoms, lack of transportation, and still having enough medication, respectively. Factors associated with unscheduled appointments were regular exercise (OR=0.15; 95%CI 0.04-0.55, p-value<0.01), more than six appointments per year (OR=0.21; 95%CI: 0.06-0.71, p-value=0.01), 4-6 appointments per year (OR=0.32; 95%CI: 0.12-0.90, p-value=0.03), and a history of previously unscheduled appointments (OR=25.42; 95%CI 7.11-90.86, p-value<0.01).
Conclusion: The prevalence of unscheduled appointments among patients with chronic non-communicable diseases was 18.9%. The main reasons were misunderstandings about their disease and inconvenience in accessing services. Regular exercise, appointment frequency and a history of previously unscheduled appointments were factors associated with unscheduled appointments among these patients.
Keywords: non-communicable disease patient, unscheduled appointment
References
World Health Organization. (2005). Preventing chronic disease, a vital investment. Geneva: World Health Organization.
Sodsri Kerdprakone. Development of a Follow-Up System for Missed Appointments in Diabetic and Hypertensive Patients at Non Suwan Hospital, Non Suwan District, Buriram Province, 2017. Available at: URL: http://www.sangkhahospital.com/sangkha/. Accessed on October 8, 2022.
Nipaporn Kimsom. Development of a Follow-Up System for Missed Appointments in Diabetic and Hypertensive Patients at Thung Phra Ya Subdistrict Health Promoting Hospital, Sanam Chai Khet District, Chachoengsao Province. Available at: URL: https://www.govesite.com/uploads/ 20171120090258j KsVj7e/. Accessed on October 8, 2022.4.
Wen C T., Wui C L., Shu C C., Yu C C., Tzeng J C. Factors of missed appointments at an academic medical center in Taiwan. Journal of Chinese Medical Association. Vol. 82. 2019; 436-42.
Ying Z., Dandi D., Wen J., Influence Factors of patient No Show in an Outpatient Department. IOP Conference series: Materials Science and Engineering. 2018; 1-6.
Richard D N., Mahvash H G., Victoria L A., Debbie A L., Owen D. Reason for and consequences of missed appointments in general practice in the UK: questionnaire survey and prospective review of medical records. BMC Family Practice. Vol. 6(47). 2005.
Chun A S., Kathryn T., Scott L., Susan M R., Hae R H. Factors associated with missed appointments by adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a systematic review. BMJ Open Diabetes Research & Care. Vol.9(1). 2021.
Bidisha D., Dinesh N., Sandeep S G., Gurinder B S. Factors affecting non-adherence to medical appointments among patients with hypertension at public health facilities in Punjab, India. J Clin Hypertens. Vol 23. 2021; 713-9.
Saif U., Saneetha R., Todd L., Ellen D., Regina J., Swapna A., et al. Why do patients miss their appointments at Primary care clinic?. Journal of Family Medicine and Disease Prevention. Vol. 4(2). 2018; 1-5
Thanuchporn K., Nichapa D., Malinee T., Supa O., Umaporn U., Wannada L. Study of Factors Associated With Missed Appointments of Patients in Adult Allergy Clinic at Ramathibodi Hospital. Rama Med J. Vol 42 No. 1 Jan-Mar. 2019; 36-42.
Alex J M., Thomas S. Why don’t patients their appointments? Maintaining engagement with psychiatric services. Advanced in Psychiatric Treatment. Vol. 13. 2021; 423-34.
Heydarabadi AB., Mehr HM., Nouhjah S., Why rural diabetic patients do not atend for scheduled appointments: results of a qualitative study. Diabetes Metab Synd 2017;11:S989-95.
Mina F A., Dianelys M., Diana M P., Fady S., Carla R., Farisa A., et al. Patients’ reasons for missing scheduled clinicappointments and their solutions at a major urban-based academic medical center. Journal of community hospital internal medicine perspectives. Vol. 10 No. 5 2020; 426-30.
Buys K C., Selleck C., Buys D R., Assessing retention in a free diabetes clinic. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners 2019; 15:301-5.
Somayeh A., Ehsan Z., Mahnaz S., Mohammad C. Missed Appointments: Factors Contributing to Patient No-show in Outpatient Hospital Clinics in Tehran, Iran. Shiraz E/Med J. Vol.18 No. 8 Aug 2018.
Niranta Chaipan, Miss Sujitra Boonkla, Mr. Kritsakon Konhan, Miss Netchanok Chaipan. Handbook on the Process of Building Health Literacy for Disease and Health Hazard Prevention and Control. 1st edition. Nonthaburi: R.N.P.P. Water Co., Ltd.; 2021.
García Díaz E, Ramírez Medina D, García López A, et al. Determinants of adherence to hypoglycemic agents and medical visits in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Endocrinol Diabetes Nutr 2017;64 :531–8. 10.1016/j.endinu.2017.08.004
SKM L, Khoo JKC, Tavintharan S. Missed appointments at a diabetes centre: not a small problem. Annals Academy of Medicine Singapore 2016;45:1–5.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Region 3 Medical and Public Health Journal - วารสารวิชาการแพทย์และสาธารณสุข เขตสุขภาพที่ 3
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
