title: An audit study of defaulters of regular psychiatric outpatient appointments in Hong Kong.
abstract: This paper describes an audit study of general psychiatric outpatient defaulters in Hong Kong. Defaulters were increased among those who were married, unemployed, housewives, seen within one year, receiving medications and previously admitted to hospital. Clinical diagnoses (ICD-10 Axis-1) of the F1, F2, F3 and F7 groups were also associated with increased defaulting behaviour. However, fewer defaulters were found among those who were aged below 19, single, employed, students, and had diagnostic groups of F4 and F9. These results added new information on the non-attendance behavioral pattern of Chinese patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Chinese University of Hong Kong.
authors.forename: A H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Pang
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tso
authors.forename: G S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Ungvari
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chiu
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Leung
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001071:Appointments and Schedules; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005260:Female; D006723:Hong Kong / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008485:Medical Audit; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D010348:Patient Care Team; D010352:Patient Dropouts / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors