Parent Perspectives on Attrition From Tertiary Care Pediatric Weight Management Programs. (June 2013)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Hampl, Sarah; Demeule, Michelle; Eneli, Ihuoma; Frank, Maura; Hawkins, Mary Jane; Kirk, Shelley; Morris, Patricia; Sallinen, Bethany J.; Santos, Melissa; Ward, Wendy L.; Rhodes, Erinn
• Is Part Of: Clinical pediatrics. Volume 52:Number 6(2013)
• Page Start: 513
• Page End: 519
• Publication Date: 2013-06
• Subjects: survey -- reasons -- scheduling -- implementation barriers -- transportation -- mismatched expectations; Pediatrics -- Periodicals; 618.920005
• DOI: 10.1177/0009922813482515
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0009-9228

Abstract

Objective . To describe parent/caregiver reasons for attrition from tertiary care weight management clinics/programs. Study design . A telephone survey was administered to 147 parents from weight management clinics/programs in the National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions' (now Children's Hospital Association's) FOCUS on a Fitter Future II collaborative. Results . Scheduling, barriers to recommendation implementation, and transportation issues were endorsed by more than half of parents as having a moderate to high influence on their decision not to return. Family motivation and mismatched expectations between families and clinic/program staff were mentioned as influential by more than one-third. Only mismatched expectations correlated with patient demographics and referral patterns. Conclusions . Although limited by small sample size, the study found that parents who left geographically diverse weight management clinics/programs reported similar reasons for attrition. Future efforts should include offering alternative visit times, more treatment options, and financial and transportation assistance and exploring family expectations.