Abstract:
The study was conducted in three phases. The first two phases were carried out as baseline
surveys before developing the intervention programme.Phase, It was a retrospective study
which included an analysis of clinic records of newly registered STD clinic patients for a
period of one year to study the extent and the pattern of defaulting. Phase II had two
components. These consisted of a comparative prospective study with a follow-up period of
two months and a descriptive study of defaulters. These two components were conducted
concurrently. The main objective of the phase II were to study factors associated with and
reasons for defaulting. The third phase was to develop, implement and evaluate an
intervention programme to reduce defaulting by clinic attendees. This study has
demonstrated high default rate among patients attending the central STD clinic, Colombo
which significantly improved following an intervention which consisted of a counseling
session and distribution of an educational leaflet giving information about the importance of
adequate follow-up care. It is recommended that medical officers should be more
considerate and flexible when scheduling follow-up dates. A reception counter manned by
well-trained staff will reduce the difficulties encountered by patients on attending the clinic.
The results indicate the need for operational research to improve the quality of service
delivery in STD clinics
