Introduction: Bipolar Disorder is an illness proceeding with chronic course. Collaboration between patient and doctor and also dimensional approrach are necessary for treatment(1). Failed attendances add to the cost of care as well as having an adverse impact on patients leading to missing medications, delay in identifying relapses and increasing waiting list time(2,3).

Objective: To investigate sociodemographic, clinic characteristics and illness perception of bipolar nonattandance patients.

Method: All patients who attend to our mood disorder outpatient clinic between 2003 and June 2008 at least 3 times, then being nonattendance till to the last one year were have been determined and phoned. Semistructured sociodemographic form and Brief Illnes Perception questionaire were applied.

Results: There were 748 recorded patients, 160 of them were nonattendance according to the our limits. We called with 39 patients. The reasons of patients for nonattendance were ability of transport (%30,8), to visit another doctor(%25,6), giving up drugs(%12,8), unpleasure with clinic (%5,1) and the others(%15,4). For the illness perception, more then half of patients emphasited that their illness does not affect their life, they control and understand their illness very well and have got any symptoms about illness.

Conclusions: The nonattendance of patients with serius menthal illness could result in interrupting of taking drugs and also appearance of relapse symptoms. Illness perception may be important for understanding and preventing to nonattandance.

References:
1-LloydM:Non-attendance at outpatient clinics.Family Practice 1993.10(2):111-117
2-JayaramM:Promtletters to reducenon-attendance:applyingevidence based practice.BMCPsychiatry Nov2008,8:90
3-RossiA:Dropping out of care: inappropriate terminations of contact with community-based psychiatric services.BJPsychiatry2002:181,331-338.