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Programmatic and Administrative Barriers to High-Risk Infant Follow-Up Care
Brian G Tang1,2, Henry C Lee2,3, Erika E Gray2,3
1Department of Pediatrics (Developmental and Behavioral), Palo Alto Medical Foundation, Los Altos, California.
Insights
Many high-risk infant follow-up programs struggle with appointment attendance, especially for families living far away. Programs need better strategies and resources to improve follow-up care for these vulnerable infants.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Public Health
- Health Services Research
Background:
- High-risk infant follow-up programs are crucial for monitoring developmental outcomes.
- Understanding programmatic features and provider challenges is essential for optimizing care delivery.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize the programmatic features of a statewide network of high-risk infant follow-up programs.
- To identify provider-perceived challenges in ensuring patient attendance.
Main Methods:
- A web-based survey was administered to directors, coordinators, and providers within a California high-risk infant follow-up system.
- Descriptive statistics, including frequencies and percentages, were used to analyze survey responses.
Main Results:
- 82% of California's high-risk infant follow-up programs responded.
- 44% reported first-visit no-show rates between 10-30%, with higher rates for subsequent visits.
- Many programs lacked strategies to support families living distant from clinics.
Conclusions:
- High-risk infant follow-up programs face resource limitations and challenges in enhancing patient follow-up.
- Strategies to improve attendance, particularly for geographically distant families, are needed.
Objective:
This article characterizes programmatic features of a population-based network of high-risk infant follow-up programs and identifies potential challenges associated with attendance from the providers' perspective.
Study Design:
A web-based survey of high-risk infant follow-up program directors, coordinators, and providers of a statewide high-risk infant follow-up system. Frequencies and percentages were used to describe the survey responses.
Results:
Of the 68 high-risk infant follow-up programs in California, 56 (82%) responded to the survey. The first visit no-show rate between 10 and 30% was estimated by 44% of programs with higher no-show rates for subsequent visits. Common strategies to remind families of appointments were phone calls and mailings. Most programs (54%) did not have a strategy to help families who lived distant to the high-risk infant follow-up clinic.
Conclusion:
High-risk infant follow-up programs may lack resources and effective strategies to enhance follow-up, particularly for those living at a distance.
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