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Issues regarding nonattendance at a paediatric dermatology centre
Author(s) -
Hon K. L.,
Leung T. F.,
Ma K. C.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
clinical and experimental dermatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.587
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1365-2230
pISSN - 0307-6938
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2230.2002.01163.x
Subject(s) - medicine , confidence interval , pediatrics , emergency department , retrospective cohort study , surgery , psychiatry
Summary Nonattendance in paediatric dermatology clinics is a significant problem. We reviewed the charts of all 400 new referrals to the Prince of Wales Hospital (PWH) paediatric dermatology clinic in the year 2000. Sixty‐six patients (17%) did not attend. The mean age ± SD of attenders (7.5 ± 5.1 years) and nonattenders (7.7 ± 4.5 years) did not differ significantly. Forty‐eight per cent of the referrals were females, 50% of the attenders were females and 67% of the nonattenders were male. Males were 2.1‐fold more likely not to attend clinic relative to females (95% confidence interval 1.14–3.71, P = 0.010). Nonattendance was significantly higher among referrals from the PWH emergency department, compared with referrals by private practitioners ( P = 0.05) and referrals by other clinics in the PWH. Data in this retrospective study confirm that there is a gender disparity in hospital nonattendance. More dermatological referrals but more nonattendance were associated with the male patients.