Absenteeism in child health services: a systematic review.
Bianca Machado Cruz Shibukawa, Gabrieli Patrício Rissi, Roberta Tognollo Borotta Uema and 3 others
PMID 37255183WHAT IT FOUND
Families skipped child health follow-ups because they believed healthy children did not need them, or faced practical barriers like long waits, distance, and lack of money.
Only four qualitative studies were found, limiting how broadly these reasons apply.
Key findings
01Families often believe that healthy children do not require growth and development follow-up consultations.
02Practical barriers including long waiting times, geographic distance, and lack of financial resources for transport were major reasons for dropout.
03Perceived lack of interest or respect from health professionals, particularly nurses, contributed to families losing trust and discontinuing care.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only four studies were included in the final synthesis, which limits the breadth and generalizability of the findings. Three of the four studies focused exclusively on mothers, with little or no data from fathers or other guardians. The included studies were all descriptive or exploratory, which may limit the depth of analysis into causal mechanisms. Researchers' influence on the studies was not clearly stated in any of the included articles, affecting credibility assessments.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume these findings represent the views of all caregivers, as the review included only four studies and three focused solely on mothers. The reasons identified are specific to the contexts studied and may not apply to other populations or healthcare systems without further verification.