Abstract
Objective
To identify determinants of nutrition appointment attendance among male veterans attending
outpatient Veterans Health Administration clinics.
Methods
Sequential use of qualitative and quantitative methods. Individual, semi-structured
interviews and a mail survey were used to identify factors associated with outpatient
nutrition appointment attendance.
Results
Qualitative analysis of 17 interviews revealed 6 themes reflecting rationales for
missed appointments: travel difficulty, forgetting the appointment, competing demands,
scheduling difficulty, knowledge not new or useful, and lack of provider support.
Analysis of 349 returned surveys indicated past attendance history, health status,
and participation in the referral and scheduling process correlated to appointment
attendance (P < .05). Regression analysis substantiated the importance of social support (P < .05).
Conclusions and Implications
Veterans Health Administration patients should participate in the referral and scheduling
process. Social support, perceived health status, and past attendance history are
important considerations for patient and provider to address.
Key Words
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessSNEB Member Login
SNEB Members, full access to the journal is a member benefit. Login via the SNEB Website to access all journal content and features.Subscribe:
Subscribe to Journal of Nutrition Education and BehaviorAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
References
- Strategies for improving follow-up client appointment-keeping compliance.J Am Diet Assoc. 2001; 10: 935-939
- Information given to patients before appointments and its effect on non-attendance rate.BMJ. 2001; 323: 1298-1300
- Why we don't come: patient perceptions on no-shows.Ann Fam Med. 2004; 2: 541-545
- Obesity prevalence among veterans at Veterans Affairs medical facilities.Am J Prev Med. 2005; 28: 291-294
- Prevalence of overweight and obesity in the United States, 1999-2004.JAMA. 2006; 295: 1549-1555
- Prevalence of obesity, diabetes, and obesity-related health risk factors.JAMA. 2003; 89: 76-79
- Diabetes in non veterans, veterans, and veterans receiving Department of Veterans Affairs health care.Diabetes Care. 2004; 27: B3-B9
- Are patients at Veterans Affairs medical centers sicker?.Arch Intern Med. 2000; 160: 3252-3257
- The estimated coasts and savings of medical nutrition therapy: the Medicare population.J Am Diet Assoc. 1999; 99: 428-435
- Why do diabetic patients not attend appointments with their dietitian?.J Hum Nutr Diet. 2003; 16: 151-158
- Mail and Internet Surveys: The Tailored Design Method.John Wiley and Sons, New York, NY2000
- Basics of Qualitative Research: Grounded Theory Procedures and Techniques.Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA1990
- Focus Groups: A Practical Guide for Applied Research.3rd ed. Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA2000
Ziemer DC, Ferguson SY, Kieltyka RL, Slocum W. Barriers to appointment keeping behavior in a municipal hospital diabetes clinic [abstract]. In: Abstract book: 58th Scientific Sessions: Saturday June 13–Tuesday June 16, 1998. Chicago, IL: American Diabetes Association; 1998.
- Prospective controlled study of psychiatric out-patient non-attendance.Br J Psychiatry. 2000; 176: 160-165
- Non-attendance in primary care: the views of patients and practices on its causes, impact, and solutions.Fam Pract. 2005; 22: 638-643
- Failure to establish HIV care: characterizing the “no show” phenomenon.Clin Infect Dis. 2007; 45: 127-130
- Factors determining non-attendance at a cardiac rehabilitation programme following myocardial infarction.N Z Med J. 2001; 114: 227-229
- Non-attendance at general practices and outpatient clinics.BMJ. 2001; 323: 1081-1082
- Financial, family, and social factors impacting on cardiac rehabilitation attendance.Heart Lung. 2007; 36: 105-113
- Why do patients not keep their appointments? Prospective study in a gastroenterology outpatient clinic.J R Soc Med. 2002; 95: 284-286
- Factors associated with cardiac rehabilitation attendance: a systematic review of the literature.Clin Rehab. 2002; 16: 541-552
- Patient factors associated with attrition from a self-management education programme.J Eval Clin Pract. 2007; 13: 913-919
- Correlates of missed appointments in orofacial injury patients.Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol Endod. 1999; 87: 405-410
- Social and Behavioral Foundations of Public Health.Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA2001
- The social support appraisals (SS-A) Scale: studies of reliability and validity.Am J Commun Psychol. 1986; 14: 195-219
- Measures of perceived social support from friends and from family: three validation studies.Am J Commun Psychol. 1983; 11: 1-24
Article info
Publication history
Published online: June 03, 2013
Identification
Copyright
Published by Elsevier Inc.
