Frequency and reasons for missed appointments of outpatient mental health care users in the uMgungundlovu District
Background: Over the years, there has been a rapid growth in the use of mobile technology which has been proven to increase treatment adherence. Short message services may improve service delivery through appointment reminders and improve communication between health care workers and patients. Misse...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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AOSIS
2018-07-01
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| Series: | Curationis |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://curationis.org.za/index.php/curationis/article/view/1835 |
| _version_ | 1818537557483323392 |
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| author | Lucelle Ramlucken Maureen N. Sibiya |
| author_facet | Lucelle Ramlucken Maureen N. Sibiya |
| author_sort | Lucelle Ramlucken |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Over the years, there has been a rapid growth in the use of mobile technology which has been proven to increase treatment adherence. Short message services may improve service delivery through appointment reminders and improve communication between health care workers and patients. Missed appointments are becoming common amongst mental health care users, and this has a significant economic burden on mental health symptoms.
Objectives: The aim of the study was to determine the frequency and reasons for missed appointments of outpatient mental health care users for their follow-up care in the uMgungundlovu District.
Method: This study used a quantitative survey. A non-probability convenient sampling method was used to select 182 participants at the psychiatric clinics.
Results: Of the 182 participants, results of the study indicated that n = 84 (46.2%) respondents had missed their appointment at some stage. Of the n = 84 (46.2%) respondents who had missed appointments, n = 28 (33.3%) had missed their appointment once, and n = 45 (53.6%) had missed their appointment 2–3 times. Most common reasons for missed appointments included mental health care users forgetting (n = 58; 69%), work commitments (n = 14; 16.7%), no transportation (n = 4; 4.8%) and financial constraints (n = 5; 6%).
Conclusion: The main reasons for missed appointments that were identified included forgetfulness, work commitments, lack of transportation and financial constraints. A significant number of participants (53.6%) had missed their appointments 2–3 times. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T18:52:17Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-52010fba6c114f9f8f88518694e91e5c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0379-8577 2223-6279 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T18:52:17Z |
| publishDate | 2018-07-01 |
| publisher | AOSIS |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Curationis |
| spelling | doaj.art-52010fba6c114f9f8f88518694e91e5c2022-12-22T00:54:16ZengAOSISCurationis0379-85772223-62792018-07-01411e1e410.4102/curationis.v41i1.18351363Frequency and reasons for missed appointments of outpatient mental health care users in the uMgungundlovu DistrictLucelle Ramlucken0Maureen N. Sibiya1KwaZulu-Natal Department of HealthDepartment of Nursing, Durban University of TechnologyBackground: Over the years, there has been a rapid growth in the use of mobile technology which has been proven to increase treatment adherence. Short message services may improve service delivery through appointment reminders and improve communication between health care workers and patients. Missed appointments are becoming common amongst mental health care users, and this has a significant economic burden on mental health symptoms. Objectives: The aim of the study was to determine the frequency and reasons for missed appointments of outpatient mental health care users for their follow-up care in the uMgungundlovu District. Method: This study used a quantitative survey. A non-probability convenient sampling method was used to select 182 participants at the psychiatric clinics. Results: Of the 182 participants, results of the study indicated that n = 84 (46.2%) respondents had missed their appointment at some stage. Of the n = 84 (46.2%) respondents who had missed appointments, n = 28 (33.3%) had missed their appointment once, and n = 45 (53.6%) had missed their appointment 2–3 times. Most common reasons for missed appointments included mental health care users forgetting (n = 58; 69%), work commitments (n = 14; 16.7%), no transportation (n = 4; 4.8%) and financial constraints (n = 5; 6%). Conclusion: The main reasons for missed appointments that were identified included forgetfulness, work commitments, lack of transportation and financial constraints. A significant number of participants (53.6%) had missed their appointments 2–3 times.https://curationis.org.za/index.php/curationis/article/view/1835Missed appointmentsPsychiatric patientsMental health care users |
| spellingShingle | Lucelle Ramlucken Maureen N. Sibiya Frequency and reasons for missed appointments of outpatient mental health care users in the uMgungundlovu District Curationis Missed appointments Psychiatric patients Mental health care users |
| title | Frequency and reasons for missed appointments of outpatient mental health care users in the uMgungundlovu District |
| title_full | Frequency and reasons for missed appointments of outpatient mental health care users in the uMgungundlovu District |
| title_fullStr | Frequency and reasons for missed appointments of outpatient mental health care users in the uMgungundlovu District |
| title_full_unstemmed | Frequency and reasons for missed appointments of outpatient mental health care users in the uMgungundlovu District |
| title_short | Frequency and reasons for missed appointments of outpatient mental health care users in the uMgungundlovu District |
| title_sort | frequency and reasons for missed appointments of outpatient mental health care users in the umgungundlovu district |
| topic | Missed appointments Psychiatric patients Mental health care users |
| url | https://curationis.org.za/index.php/curationis/article/view/1835 |
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