Predictors of ongoing attendance at an Australian publicly funded specialist obesity service

Abstract Introduction There is a demand for publicly funded specialist obesity services in Australia. A range of factors can impact on patient attendance which can result in poorer health outcomes. Objective To identify patient factors that predict ongoing in‐person attendance following initial medi...

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Main Authors: Louise Brightman, Hsin‐Chia Carol Huang, Ekavi Georgousopoulou
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2024-12-01
Series:Obesity Science & Practice
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/osp4.70010
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author Louise Brightman
Hsin‐Chia Carol Huang
Ekavi Georgousopoulou
author_facet Louise Brightman
Hsin‐Chia Carol Huang
Ekavi Georgousopoulou
author_sort Louise Brightman
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Introduction There is a demand for publicly funded specialist obesity services in Australia. A range of factors can impact on patient attendance which can result in poorer health outcomes. Objective To identify patient factors that predict ongoing in‐person attendance following initial medical assessment at the Canberra Obesity Management Service. Methods Data were collated from two retrospective reviews (July 2016–June 2017 and July 2018–June 2019). Predictive modeling was used to determine the likelihood of ongoing attendance. Results A total of 396 patients were identified. Mean age was 45.4 years (SD 13.1), mean weight was 139.5 kg (SD 27.8) and mean Body Mass Index was 49.87 kg/m2 (SD 8.7). Demographics and anthropometrics were not predictive of ongoing attendance. Patients with a higher comorbidity burden were more likely to continue attending (p < 0.001). Patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) were 4.9 times more likely to continue attending (p < 0.001). Hypertension was more common among patients who continued attending (p = 0.005); however, this relationship was no longer significant when using a multi‐adjusted model. Comorbid depression and/or anxiety diagnoses were not predictive of ongoing attendance although the p‐value for anxiety severity classification approached significance. Conclusions Findings are consistent with existing evidence linking OSA and attendance at specialist obesity services. Hypertension was predictive of ongoing attendance and warrants further research. Determining if anxiety is a true barrier to attendance at specialist obesity services may have implications in terms of optimizing diagnosis and treatment prior to referral or in the early stages of obesity management.
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spelling doaj-art-ebb87bedbd144f24a9e15f6eca8b00e42024-12-27T10:20:33ZengWileyObesity Science & Practice2055-22382024-12-01106n/an/a10.1002/osp4.70010Predictors of ongoing attendance at an Australian publicly funded specialist obesity serviceLouise Brightman0Hsin‐Chia Carol Huang1Ekavi Georgousopoulou2Obesity Management Sevice Canberra Health Services (CHS) Canberra Australian Capital Territory (ACT) AustraliaSchool of Medicine and Psychology Australian National University (ANU) Canberra ACT AustraliaCentre for Health and Medical Research ACT Health Canberra ACT AustraliaAbstract Introduction There is a demand for publicly funded specialist obesity services in Australia. A range of factors can impact on patient attendance which can result in poorer health outcomes. Objective To identify patient factors that predict ongoing in‐person attendance following initial medical assessment at the Canberra Obesity Management Service. Methods Data were collated from two retrospective reviews (July 2016–June 2017 and July 2018–June 2019). Predictive modeling was used to determine the likelihood of ongoing attendance. Results A total of 396 patients were identified. Mean age was 45.4 years (SD 13.1), mean weight was 139.5 kg (SD 27.8) and mean Body Mass Index was 49.87 kg/m2 (SD 8.7). Demographics and anthropometrics were not predictive of ongoing attendance. Patients with a higher comorbidity burden were more likely to continue attending (p < 0.001). Patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) were 4.9 times more likely to continue attending (p < 0.001). Hypertension was more common among patients who continued attending (p = 0.005); however, this relationship was no longer significant when using a multi‐adjusted model. Comorbid depression and/or anxiety diagnoses were not predictive of ongoing attendance although the p‐value for anxiety severity classification approached significance. Conclusions Findings are consistent with existing evidence linking OSA and attendance at specialist obesity services. Hypertension was predictive of ongoing attendance and warrants further research. Determining if anxiety is a true barrier to attendance at specialist obesity services may have implications in terms of optimizing diagnosis and treatment prior to referral or in the early stages of obesity management.https://doi.org/10.1002/osp4.70010attendancecomorbiditiescompletionengagementmanagementobesity
spellingShingle Louise Brightman
Hsin‐Chia Carol Huang
Ekavi Georgousopoulou
Predictors of ongoing attendance at an Australian publicly funded specialist obesity service
Obesity Science & Practice
attendance
comorbidities
completion
engagement
management
obesity
title Predictors of ongoing attendance at an Australian publicly funded specialist obesity service
title_full Predictors of ongoing attendance at an Australian publicly funded specialist obesity service
title_fullStr Predictors of ongoing attendance at an Australian publicly funded specialist obesity service
title_full_unstemmed Predictors of ongoing attendance at an Australian publicly funded specialist obesity service
title_short Predictors of ongoing attendance at an Australian publicly funded specialist obesity service
title_sort predictors of ongoing attendance at an australian publicly funded specialist obesity service
topic attendance
comorbidities
completion
engagement
management
obesity
url https://doi.org/10.1002/osp4.70010
work_keys_str_mv AT louisebrightman predictorsofongoingattendanceatanaustralianpubliclyfundedspecialistobesityservice
AT hsinchiacarolhuang predictorsofongoingattendanceatanaustralianpubliclyfundedspecialistobesityservice
AT ekavigeorgousopoulou predictorsofongoingattendanceatanaustralianpubliclyfundedspecialistobesityservice