Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 7, 2026

A Method of Trigonometric Modelling of Seasonal Variation Demonstrated with Multiple Sclerosis Relapse Data
Published on: December 9, 2015
Understanding repeated non-attendance in health services: a pilot analysis of administrative data and full study
Andrea E Williamson1, David A Ellis2, Philip Wilson3
1General Practice and Primary Care, School of Medicine, Dentistry and Nursing, MVLS, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.
Introduction:
Understanding the causes of low engagement in healthcare is a pre-requisite for improving health services' contribution to tackling health inequalities. Low engagement includes missing healthcare appointments. Serially (having a pattern of) missing general practice (GP) appointments may provide a risk marker for vulnerability and poorer health outcomes.
Methods And Analysis:
A proof of concept pilot using GP appointment data and a focus group with GPs informed the development of missed appointment categories: patients can be classified based on the number of appointments missed each year. The full study, using a retrospective cohort design, will link routine health service and education data to determine the relationship between GP appointment attendance, health outcomes, healthcare usage, preventive health activity and social circumstances taking a life course approach and using data from the whole journey in the National Health Service (NHS) healthcare. 172 practices will be recruited (∼900 000 patients) across Scotland. The statistical analysis will focus on 2 key areas: factors that predict patients who serially miss appointments, and serial missed appointments as a predictor of future patient outcomes. Regression models will help understand how missed appointment patterns are associated with patient and practice characteristics. We shall identify key factors associated with serial missed appointments and potential interactions that might predict them.
Ethics And Dissemination:
The results of the project will inform debates concerning how best to reduce non-attendance and increase patient engagement within healthcare systems. Significant non-academic beneficiaries include governments, policymakers and medical practitioners. Results will be disseminated via a combination of academic outputs (papers, conferences), social media and through collaborative public health/policy fora.
More Related Videos
06:55Inverse Probability of Treatment Weighting Propensity Score using the Military Health System Data Repository and National Death Index
Published on: January 8, 2020
09:42Using Continuous Data Tracking Technology to Study Exercise Adherence in Pulmonary Rehabilitation
Published on: November 8, 2013
Related Concept Videos
Data Collection by Observations
An astronomer viewing the motion and brightness of stars in the sky and recording the data is an example of observational data collection. A botanist recording...
Observational Studies
There are three types of observational studies – Prospective, retrospective, and cross-sectional.
Prospective Study
Prospective studies, also known as longitudinal or cohort studies, are carried out by collecting future data from groups sharing similar characteristics. One...
Longitudinal Research
Introduction To Survival Analysis
The primary goal of survival analysis is to estimate survival time—the time...
Study Designs in Epidemiology
Observational studies are those where the researcher does not intervene but rather observes natural variations. They include cross-sectional, cohort, and...
Bias in Epidemiological Studies