What is interfering with attendance in adult psychiatric out patients clinics?

Objective: To identify the characteristics of non-attendersin a psychiatric outpatient setting.Methods: A retrospective study evaluates patients’attendance for one year after the initial visit to the outpatientclinic in Al-Amal complex for mental health in Riyadh,from 30th July 2003 to 22nd January 2004. Informationincluding sociodemographic data and other factors such aspsychiatrist grade and nationality, type of medication, andso forth, were analyzed.Results: The total sample was 73 patients, and the non-ABSTRACTattendance rate was 34.2%. The study showed the differencebetween attenders and non-attenders for some factors, butit was not statistically significant.Conclusion: Although the result was not significant fromthe statistical viewpoint, it sheds light upon importantconfounding factors that need to be evaluated thoroughly,such as stigma, which characterizes mental health practicein particular.