ArticleBJGP open2024
From statistics to stories: understanding the complex landscape of missed medical appointments. A mixed-methods pilot study.
Article in BJGP open, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- [Patient-reported reasons for missed otolaryngology outpatient appointments].Anales del sistema sanitario de Navarra · 2026Observational
- Prevalence and Drivers of Missed Healthcare Appointments in Poland: Insights From a 2025 Survey.Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2026Article
- Breaking Barriers with Humor and Heart: Dr. Elizabeth Hughes Fong's Contributions to the Culturally Sensitive Practice of Applied Behavior Analysis.Behavior analysis in practice · 2025Review
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundResearch suggests that in both France and the UK, between 5% and 10% of appointments with GPs are unattended. A comprehensive Irish study linked missed appointments with an increased short-term risk of mortality, prompting further investigation into the reasons behind absenteeism.
aimTo delve into the underlying causes of missed appointments, within the context of an urban health centre. DESIGN &
settingUsing a mixed-method approach, this study combines qualitative telephone interviews with quantitative analysis of medical records. The study focuses on patients who failed to attend appointments at an urban health centre in France over a 15-day period.
methodThe interview guide collected data on circumstances leading to missed appointments and explored patients' social determinants of health. Additionally, quantitative data, including patients' socioeconomic backgrounds, were extracted from medical records.
resultsAmong 53 missed appointments (4.9% of all scheduled), 22 patients were interviewed. State health coverage (SHC) beneficiaries (68.2% of the sample) cited socioeconomic instability, including precarious work hours, social isolation, and multiple commitments, as reasons for non-attendance. For non-SHC beneficiaries, forgetting the appointment or failing to cancel it after self-resolution of the health issue was one of the main causes. Remarkably, 36.4% disclosed that they had experienced domestic violence. During the qualitative interview, patients were offered the opportunity to reschedule appointments, and a retrospective analysis by physicians found that over a quarter of the missed appointments were classified as 'capital appointments', meaning their absence could have significantly harmed the patient's health.
conclusionThe findings indicate that missed appointments can highlight social inequality, emphasising the need to align health care with patients' temporal realities. The identification of patients who have experienced violence and the use of missed appointments as triggers for follow-up calls seem to be promising strategies to enhance care and mitigate health inequalities.
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