Compliance with Physician Follow-up Appointments After Acute Traumatic Hand and Forearm Injuries: A Prospective...

The aim was to compare the demographic, socioeconomic, and clinical characteristics of patients who were compliant with and non-compliant with physician follow-up appointments at a hand rehabilitation clinic after acute traumatic hand and forearm injuries.

The study included 81 patients with hand and forearm injuries. At the initial presentation, patients' demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, nature and severity of injury, scores of Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and Exercise Benefits/Barriers Scale, previous injury history, and rehabilitation experiences were recorded. Permanent workers were also questioned about the urgency of returning to work and the impact of the injury on their ability to continue working. Those who attended all 6 follow-up appointments (compliants) and those who did not attend at least 1 follow-up appointment (non-compliants) were compared on variables recorded.

The study included 62 males (76.5%) and 19 females (23.5%), aged 18-76 years, with a median age of 31 years. No significant differences were found between compliant and noncompliant patients in terms of demographic and socioeconomic factors, injury-related clinical features, illness perception, psychological status, exercise benefit/barrier perceptions, previous injuries, and perceived return-to-work urgency. Patients who reported being unable to work without using their injured hands, who received hospital-based outpatient rehabilitation, and who had prior rehabilitation experience were more likely to attend follow-up appointments.

The study confirmed the concept that patient compliance with physician follow-up appointments in patients with hand and forearm injuries constitutes a multifaceted health behavior   Cite this article as: Özcan Özel İ, Özdemir H, Benlier E. Compliance with physician followup appointments after acute traumatic hand and forearm injuries: A prospective comparison of demographic, socioeconomic and clinical characteristics. Eurasian J Med. 2026, 58(2), 1324, doi: 10.5152/eurasianjmed.2026.251324.