Non‐attendance and utilization of a speech and language therapy service: a retrospective pilot study of school‐aged referrals. Issue 5 (20th March 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Curran, Amy; Flynn, Catherine; Antonijevic‐Elliott, Stanislava; Lyons, Rena
• Is Part Of: International journal of language & communication disorders. Volume 50:Issue 5(2015)
• Page Start: 665
• Page End: 675
• Publication Date: 2015-03-20
• Subjects: Communicative disorders -- Periodicals; Speech therapy -- Periodicals; Speech disorders -- Periodicals; Language disorders -- Periodicals; 616.855
• DOI: 10.1111/1460-6984.12165
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1368-2822

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main"> <title>Abstract</title> <sec id="jlcd12165-sec-0010" sec-type="section"> <title>Background</title> <p>Non‐attendance and inappropriate referrals affect the effective and efficient running of healthcare services. Non‐engagement with speech and language therapy (SLT) services may lead to negative long‐term consequences for children in need of SLT intervention. Currently there is a dearth of research on non‐attendance and non‐engagement with SLT services.</p> </sec> <sec id="jlcd12165-sec-0020" sec-type="section"> <title>Aims</title> <p>To identify factors associated with (1) non‐attendance and (2) parents' non‐engagement with SLT services.</p> </sec> <sec id="jlcd12165-sec-0030" sec-type="section"> <title>Methods & Procedures</title> <p>Demographic data were collected from 140 case files of children (aged 5;0–17;11 years) discharged from a public community SLT service (November 2011–October 2013) with no intervention provided. Logistic regression analyses explored relationships between demographic data and (1) non‐attendance and (2) non‐engagement with the SLT service.</p> </sec> <sec id="jlcd12165-sec-0040" sec-type="section"> <title>Outcomes & Results</title> <p>There was an increased probability of non‐attendance during winter (i.e. September–February inclusive; OR = 3.14; <italic>p</italic> = 0.028) relative to summer, and with each month a child waited for SLT assessment (OR = 1.19; <italic>p</italic> = 0.066). There was decreased probability of non‐attendance with children referred for speech (OR = 0.08; <italic>p</italic> = 0.011) or language difficulties (OR = 0.15; <italic>p</italic> = 0.050) relative to dysfluency. The probability of non‐engagement with the SLT service increased in each of the following conditions: with each month a child waited for assessment (OR = 1.27; <italic>p</italic> = 0.004); in urban (OR = 2.40; <italic>p</italic> = 0.066) relative to rural locations; during winter (OR = 2.65; <italic>p</italic> = 0.021) relative to summer; and with referrals made by occupational therapists, physiotherapists, psychologists and social workers (OR = 18.65; <italic>p</italic> = 0.016) relative to doctor referrals.</p> </sec> <sec id="jlcd12165-sec-0050" sec-type="section"> <title>Conclusions & Implications</title> <p>Non‐attendance is influenced by wait times, season and the reason for referral. Location (urban versus rural), referral source, wait times and season are factors related to non‐engagement with SLT services. Targeted policies to improve efficiency and effectiveness of SLT services could be designed around these study findings.</p> </sec> </abstract>