Date of Conferral

2015

Degree

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

School

Nursing

Advisor

Andrea Jennings-Sanders

Abstract

Lower socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and race are associated with reduced health care use in the United States. Patients who continually miss their appointments suffer significant negative results, including a disruption in continuity of care, complications with their chronic illnesses, and an increase in hospital readmissions. The health belief model was used as the theoretical support for this project that investigated the underlying causes of no-shows at an urban hospital-based outpatient clinic in the United States. It used a quantitative, descriptive design and examined a minority, underserved, and underinsured population that was receiving care at the research site and had a fairly consistent 30% no-show rate. Data was collected by anonymous survey from 151 patients and 22 health care providers and analyzed via means, t tests, and an ANOVA. Female patients were significantly more likely than male patients to approve of the current scheduling system at the site, in which patients simply call the clinic for an appointment (p = 0.040). White (non-Hispanic) patients in general had a statistically lower interest in receiving appointment reminders via text compared to the rest of the population (p=0.024). Patients who were 29 years old and younger were significantly less likely than patients who were 30 years old and over to indicate that they did not show up to appointments due to a lack of insurance (p '? 0.001). This project promoted positive social change by increasing patient, staff, and stakeholder awareness of the reasons patients miss their appointments. The findings of this project can be used to improve appointment scheduling, reduce patient wait times, increase patient satisfaction, and increase cost savings to the clinic.

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