Missed initial appointments at Israeli child development centres: Rate, reasons, and associated characteristics

Galit Hirsh-Yechezkel, Saralee Glasser, Lidia V. Gabis, Avi Eden, David Savitzki, Adel Farhi, Osnat Luxenburg, Gila Levitan, Liat Lerner-Geva

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

Introduction: Missed appointments (MAs) at child development centres (ChDCs) cause multiple problems: they preclude timely diagnosis and treatment of both the invited child and children whose appointment was delayed due to overbooking, as well as disrupting efficient organisational management. The aim of this study was to assess the rate and describe the reasons for missed appointments at Israeli ChDCs, and to evaluate the association of socio-demographic, clinical, and administrative variables with MA rates. Methods: This nested case-control study included all children scheduled for initial appointments (N = 1143) at three centres during 1 year. Parents of children who missed their appointment and a sample of those who attended were interviewed by telephone. Results: The rate of missed appointments was 26.6%, and the most frequent reasons were unexpected events (26.0%) and lack of insurance coverage (23.4%). Variables associated with lower MA rates were: having had ≥3 types of rehabilitative interventions (odds ratios (OR) = 0.26; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.16–0.44), detailed referral letter (OR = 0.48; 95%CI 0.30–0.75), telephone reminder (OR = 0.37; 95%CI 0.24–0.57) and health maintenance organisations or private insurance coverage (OR = 0.12; 95%CI 0.06–0.17 and OR = 0.56; 95% CI 0.38–0.89, respectively). Conclusion: Encouraging physician's referral letters and personal-contact reminders can reduce missed appointments. Understanding the family's and the child's personal characteristics, and the organisational/administrative aspects of missed appointments may guide efforts to ensure timely care for every child.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2779-2793
Number of pages15
JournalInternational Journal of Health Planning and Management
Volume37
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2022
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Authors. The International Journal of Health Planning and Management published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Funding

The authors wish to express their appreciation to Mrs. Ina Zaslavsky‐Paltiel for statistical support, to Mrs. Daphna Pollack for data management assistance, and to Mrs. Rachel Barazani for assistance in data collection. The authors also wish to thank the parents for their cooperation and participation in the study. This research was funded by the Israel National Institute for Health Policy Research (Grant #91155).

FundersFunder number
Israel National Institute for Health Policy Research91155

    Keywords

    • child development centre
    • disabilities
    • healthcare management
    • missed appointments
    • no-shows

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