title: Patient engagement and attrition in pediatric obesity clinics and programs: results and recommendations.
abstract: Pediatric tertiary care institutions are well positioned to provide multidisciplinary, intensive interventions for pediatric obesity known as stage 3 treatment. One contributor to the difficulty in administering this treatment is the high rate of patient attrition. Little is known about the practices used by pediatric weight-management clinics and group-based programs to minimize attrition. Hospital members and nonmembers of FOCUS on a Fitter Future were surveyed on the methods used to engage and retain obese children in their clinics and programs. Shortly thereafter, a benchmarking activity that centered on rates of patient nonattendance at initial and follow-up clinic visits was initiated among FOCUS-group-participating hospitals. Clinic- and group-based program results were contrasted. Staff from group-based programs reported that the majority of patients did not complete even 50% of program follow-up visits. Multiple patient/family- and clinic/program-level barriers to retention were identified. Attention to successful techniques should be paid during planning for new programs and improvement of established ones.
authors: Weight Management and General Pediatrics, Children's Mercy Hospital, 2401 Gillham Rd, Kansas City, MO 64108, USA. shampl@cmh.edu
authors: Sarah
authors: S
authors: Hampl
authors: Heather
authors: H
authors: Paves
authors: Katie
authors: K
authors: Laubscher
authors: Ihuoma
authors: I
authors: Eneli
mesh_terms: D019985:Benchmarking; D002648:Child; D019468:Disease Management; D006776:Hospitals, Pediatric / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D009765:Obesity / Q000628:therapy*; D010044:Outpatient Clinics, Hospital / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States