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Reasons for non-attendance at a child guidance clinic
1Maudsley Hospital, Denmark Hill, London.
Insights
Many children referred to child guidance clinics miss initial appointments. Parental ignorance about services is a key reason for this absenteeism, leading to untreated persistent problems.
Area of Science:
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
- Clinical Psychology
- Healthcare Access
Background:
- Child guidance clinics receive referrals for children with various issues.
- A significant number of referred children do not attend initial appointments, impacting service delivery.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the characteristics and reasons for non-attendance at child guidance clinic initial interviews.
- To understand the outcomes for children who fail to attend their first appointment.
Main Methods:
- A consecutive series of 19 non-attending children were followed up.
- Non-attenders were compared to a matched group of children who attended.
Main Results:
- Non-attenders were similar to attenders in problem severity, waiting times, referral sources, and demographics.
- Non-attenders were more likely to live with natural parents.
- Parental reluctance, possibly due to lack of information about the clinic, was the primary reason for non-attendance.
- Most non-attenders' problems remained untreated.
Conclusions:
- Non-attendance at child guidance clinics is a significant issue, not explained by typical demographic or problem-related factors.
- Addressing parental awareness and potential reluctance is crucial for improving access to child mental health services.
- Untreated problems in non-attending children highlight the need for effective outreach and engagement strategies.
Abstract:
A consecutive group of children (n = 19) referred to a child guidance clinic who failed to attend an initial interview were followed-up. These 'non-attenders' did not differ from a matched group of 'attenders' with respect to duration or nature of their problems, waiting period for the appointment, type of referring agencies or socio-demographic variables, but were more likely to be living with their natural parents. Disinclination among the parents was the main reason for absenteeism and could be related to ignorance about the clinic. The problems leading to referral persisted in most cases and had not received further treatment.