Comparison of Asian and English non-attenders at a hospital outpatient department.

Failure to attend the outpatient department for a clinic appointment was studied separately among white (English) and Asian patients, with particular emphasis on the reasons for non-attendance among the Muslims. Overall, Asian patients failed to attend more than the English ones (p < 0.001). 'Follow up' and new Asian patients had significantly higher rates of non-attendance than follow up and new English patients (p < 0.001 in both cases respectively). Muslim boys defaulted more than Muslim girls (p < 0.001), but no such difference was noted among Sikhs, Hindus, or English patients. During the study period (January-December 1995) nearly half (47%) the Muslims did not attend due to religious reasons (for example, fasting during the month of Ramadan), communication difficulties, and the child being on holiday abroad. Failure to attend the outpatient department is significantly higher for ward generated outpatient appointments compared with appointments after previous outpatient attendance for the English and the Asians (p < 0.001 and p < 0.001 respectively). Recommendations for improving outpatient attendance are made for Muslim patients in the hope that these principles can be extrapolated to other ethnic minority groups.