ABSTRACT
AIMS: To investigate the impact of clinician-led telephone consultation during the New Zealand COVID-19 lockdown on subsequent appointment attendance in a paediatric audiology service, particularly for Maori and Pacific families. METHODS: A retrospective clinical audit at Counties Manukau Health of all children (>3 years old) on the audiology waiting list. Binary logistic regression analysis tested for association of appointment attendance following attempted audiologist-led telephone consultation, with ethnicity, waiting times, socio-economic deprivation levels and telephone consultation contact. RESULTS: Of 349 eligible children, 208 families participated in telephone consultations (59%). Ten percent of those contacted were able to be discharged as no longer requiring care. There were no differences in attendance rates between those who had participated in telephone consultation and those who had not (77.5% versus 77.8%). Pacific and Maori children were 68% and 64% less likely to attend appointments after adjusting for socio-economic deprivation level, waiting time and telephone consultation compared to NZ European children. Longer waiting times were significantly associated with decreased attendance rates. CONCLUSIONS: Attendance was found to be associated with ethnicity and waiting times. Telephone consultation did not improve attendance rates overall nor for ethnicity subgroups. It is therefore concluded that telephone consultation was found to be of only limited benefit in paediatric audiology services.