Addressing Treatment Abandonment in Pediatric Oncology: The Role of Missed Appointment Call-Back Systems in a Pakistani Setting
Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of a missed appointment call-back system in reducing treatment abandonment rates at a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Department of Indus Hospital and Health Netwo...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Dow University of Health Sciences
2024-12-01
|
| Series: | Journal of the Dow University of Health Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://jduhs.jduhs.duhs.edu.pk/index.php/jduhs/article/view/2194 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850063958843588608 |
|---|---|
| author | Neelum Tahirkheli Sadia Imran Fauzia Ahmed Muhammad Rafi Raza Zaman Khan Shabnam Munir Muhammad Shamvil Ashraf Syed Ahmed Hamid |
| author_facet | Neelum Tahirkheli Sadia Imran Fauzia Ahmed Muhammad Rafi Raza Zaman Khan Shabnam Munir Muhammad Shamvil Ashraf Syed Ahmed Hamid |
| author_sort | Neelum Tahirkheli |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of a missed appointment call-back system in reducing treatment abandonment rates at a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Department of Indus Hospital and Health Network from April to September 2023. The study included children aged 1 month to 16 years diagnosed with cancer and receiving curative treatment. A call-back system was introduced, contacting patients within 48 hours of a missed appointment to address their absence and reschedule. Treatment abandonment was defined as missing clinic visits for 4 weeks.
Results: Of 389 children, the mean age was 6.8 ±4.0 years. There were 258 (66.3%) males and 131 (33.6%) females. Treatment abandonment was observed in 26 (6.7%) patients. The likelihood of treatment abandonment was 6 times significantly higher in children who did not respond to the call than those who did respond (cOR 6.27, 95% CI 2.69 to 14.59, p-value <0.001). Similarly, children who missed rescheduled appointments had 8 times higher chances of treatment abandonment than those who attended (cOR 8.11, 95% CI 3.30 to 19.92, p-value <0.001). Among 26 treatment abandonment children, the most common reason of missed appointment was financial issue 10 (38.5%) followed by forget appointment 7 (26.9%), attending school 6 (23.1%), and long distance 3 (11.5%).
Conclusion: Treatment abandonment was low as 6.7%. Children who did not respond to call-backs or missed rescheduled appointments were significantly more likely to abandon treatment. The call-back system is effective in reducing abandonment rates in pediatric oncology.
|
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e5cc800c45d44b218f99b43b7f13ae06 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1995-2198 2410-2180 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Dow University of Health Sciences |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of the Dow University of Health Sciences |
| spelling | doaj-art-e5cc800c45d44b218f99b43b7f13ae062025-08-20T02:49:26ZengDow University of Health SciencesJournal of the Dow University of Health Sciences1995-21982410-21802024-12-01183Addressing Treatment Abandonment in Pediatric Oncology: The Role of Missed Appointment Call-Back Systems in a Pakistani SettingNeelum Tahirkheli0Sadia Imran1Fauzia Ahmed2Muhammad Rafi Raza3Zaman Khan4Shabnam Munir5Muhammad Shamvil Ashraf6Syed Ahmed Hamid7Department of Paediatric Haematology Oncology, Indus Hospital and Health Network, Karachi.Department of Paediatric Haematology Oncology, Indus Hospital and Health Network, Karachi.Department of Paediatric Haematology Oncology, Indus Hospital and Health Network, Karachi.Department of Paediatric Haematology Oncology, Indus Hospital and Health Network, Karachi.Department of Paediatric Haematology Oncology, Indus Hospital and Health Network, Karachi.Department of Paediatric Haematology Oncology, Indus Hospital and Health Network, Karachi.Department of Paediatric Haematology Oncology, Indus Hospital and Health Network, Karachi.Department of Paediatric Haematology Oncology, Indus Hospital and Health Network, Karachi. Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of a missed appointment call-back system in reducing treatment abandonment rates at a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Department of Indus Hospital and Health Network from April to September 2023. The study included children aged 1 month to 16 years diagnosed with cancer and receiving curative treatment. A call-back system was introduced, contacting patients within 48 hours of a missed appointment to address their absence and reschedule. Treatment abandonment was defined as missing clinic visits for 4 weeks. Results: Of 389 children, the mean age was 6.8 ±4.0 years. There were 258 (66.3%) males and 131 (33.6%) females. Treatment abandonment was observed in 26 (6.7%) patients. The likelihood of treatment abandonment was 6 times significantly higher in children who did not respond to the call than those who did respond (cOR 6.27, 95% CI 2.69 to 14.59, p-value <0.001). Similarly, children who missed rescheduled appointments had 8 times higher chances of treatment abandonment than those who attended (cOR 8.11, 95% CI 3.30 to 19.92, p-value <0.001). Among 26 treatment abandonment children, the most common reason of missed appointment was financial issue 10 (38.5%) followed by forget appointment 7 (26.9%), attending school 6 (23.1%), and long distance 3 (11.5%). Conclusion: Treatment abandonment was low as 6.7%. Children who did not respond to call-backs or missed rescheduled appointments were significantly more likely to abandon treatment. The call-back system is effective in reducing abandonment rates in pediatric oncology. https://jduhs.jduhs.duhs.edu.pk/index.php/jduhs/article/view/2194Pediatric cancerTreatment abandonmentcall-back systemPakistanoncology |
| spellingShingle | Neelum Tahirkheli Sadia Imran Fauzia Ahmed Muhammad Rafi Raza Zaman Khan Shabnam Munir Muhammad Shamvil Ashraf Syed Ahmed Hamid Addressing Treatment Abandonment in Pediatric Oncology: The Role of Missed Appointment Call-Back Systems in a Pakistani Setting Journal of the Dow University of Health Sciences Pediatric cancer Treatment abandonment call-back system Pakistan oncology |
| title | Addressing Treatment Abandonment in Pediatric Oncology: The Role of Missed Appointment Call-Back Systems in a Pakistani Setting |
| title_full | Addressing Treatment Abandonment in Pediatric Oncology: The Role of Missed Appointment Call-Back Systems in a Pakistani Setting |
| title_fullStr | Addressing Treatment Abandonment in Pediatric Oncology: The Role of Missed Appointment Call-Back Systems in a Pakistani Setting |
| title_full_unstemmed | Addressing Treatment Abandonment in Pediatric Oncology: The Role of Missed Appointment Call-Back Systems in a Pakistani Setting |
| title_short | Addressing Treatment Abandonment in Pediatric Oncology: The Role of Missed Appointment Call-Back Systems in a Pakistani Setting |
| title_sort | addressing treatment abandonment in pediatric oncology the role of missed appointment call back systems in a pakistani setting |
| topic | Pediatric cancer Treatment abandonment call-back system Pakistan oncology |
| url | https://jduhs.jduhs.duhs.edu.pk/index.php/jduhs/article/view/2194 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT neelumtahirkheli addressingtreatmentabandonmentinpediatriconcologytheroleofmissedappointmentcallbacksystemsinapakistanisetting AT sadiaimran addressingtreatmentabandonmentinpediatriconcologytheroleofmissedappointmentcallbacksystemsinapakistanisetting AT fauziaahmed addressingtreatmentabandonmentinpediatriconcologytheroleofmissedappointmentcallbacksystemsinapakistanisetting AT muhammadrafiraza addressingtreatmentabandonmentinpediatriconcologytheroleofmissedappointmentcallbacksystemsinapakistanisetting AT zamankhan addressingtreatmentabandonmentinpediatriconcologytheroleofmissedappointmentcallbacksystemsinapakistanisetting AT shabnammunir addressingtreatmentabandonmentinpediatriconcologytheroleofmissedappointmentcallbacksystemsinapakistanisetting AT muhammadshamvilashraf addressingtreatmentabandonmentinpediatriconcologytheroleofmissedappointmentcallbacksystemsinapakistanisetting AT syedahmedhamid addressingtreatmentabandonmentinpediatriconcologytheroleofmissedappointmentcallbacksystemsinapakistanisetting |