Nonattendance at Scheduled Appointments in Outpatient Clinics Due to COVID-19 and Related Factors in Taiwan: A Health Belief Model Approach

Yi-Ping Hsieh, Cheng-Fang Yen, Chia-Fen Wu and Peng-Wei Wang
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Yi-Ping Hsieh: Department of Social Work, College of Nursing and Professional Disciplines, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND 58202, USA
Cheng-Fang Yen: Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan
Chia-Fen Wu: Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan
Peng-Wei Wang: Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 9, 1-13

Abstract: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of hospital visits and attendance at scheduled appointments have dropped significantly. We used the health belief model (in three dimensions) to examine the determinants of non-attendance of scheduled appointments in outpatient clinics due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants in Taiwan ( n = 1954) completed an online survey from 10 April 10 to 23 April 2020, which assessed how people perceived and responded to the outbreak of a fast-spreading infectious disease. We performed both univariate and multivariate logistic regression to examine the roles of cognitive, affective, and behavioral health belief constructs in nonattendance at scheduled appointments. The results indicated that individuals who perceived high confidence in coping with COVID-19 were less likely to miss or cancel their doctor’s appointments, whereas individuals who reported high anxiety and practiced more preventive health behaviors, including avoiding crowded places, washing hands more often, and wearing a mask more often, were more likely to miss or cancel their appointments due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Non-heterosexual participants had a lower rate of nonattendance at scheduled appointments compared with heterosexual ones. The study results increase our understanding of the patients’ cognitive health beliefs, psychological distress, and health behaviors when assessing adherence to medical appointments during a pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic; health belief; self-efficacy; medical appointment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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