Missed appointments at a family planning clinic

Abstract

SummaryOne hundred and fifty-two women who failed to keep appointments for discussion or fitting of an IUD at a hospital clinic have been studied. Home visits were made by a social worker in an attempt to encourage the women to accept a new appointment, or make alternative plans for birth control. At the end of the study, 31 women had been fitted with an IUD, 16 had had a tubal tie, and 46 were successfully using other methods of contraception. The eventual acceptance of an IUD was found to be related to the reasons given by the women for not keeping the missed appointment.