Health Provider Determinants of Nonattendance in Pediatric Otolaryngology Patients.

INTRODUCTION:: Nonattendance for otolaryngology appointments disrupts the management of medical care and leads to ineffective use of resources. The determinants of nonattendance in pediatric otolaryngology patients have not been well documented.OBJECTIVES:: To investigate health provider determinants of nonattendance in pediatric otolaryngology patients.STUDY DESIGN:: We assessed the effects of waiting time for an appointment and the timing of the appointment (during the day, week, and year) on nonattendance proportions during a 1 year period. Chi square tests were used to analyze statistically significant differences of categorical variables. Logistic regression was used for multivariate analyses.RESULTS:: A total of 2,628 pediatric visits were included in the study. The overall proportion of nonattendance at the pediatric otolaryngology clinic was 33.0%. Nonattendance proportions were 32.7% between 7 AM and 9 AM; 28.3% between 9 AM and 2 PM, and 36.5% between 2 PM and 8 PM (P < .001). The proportion of nonattendance was 24.1% when there was a short waiting time for an appointment (0–7 days), and 36.3% when there was an intermediate waiting time (7–15 days), and 36.6% when there was a long waiting time (15 days and above)(P < .001, P < .012, respectively).CONCLUSIVE:: Health provider determinants of nonattendance in pediatric otolaryngology clinic appointments include the waiting time for an appointment and the hour of the appointment within the day. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]