Table 4.

Frequency of reasons for missed appointments

Themes	Frequency (how many studies reported the reason), n
Patient-centred reasons
Work or family/childcare issues	7 ³^,⁸^,¹⁹^,²¹^–²⁴
Forgot appointment	5 ⁸^,¹⁹^,²¹^,²³^,²⁵
Transportation issues	5⁸^,¹⁹^,²¹^–²³
Too unwell	3 ⁸^,²¹^,²⁴
Weather	3 ⁸^,¹⁹^,²¹
Felt better	2⁸^,¹⁹
Other issues: couldn’t be bothered, was in hospital, not aware of date, death in family (each mentioned once)	1⁸

Clinic-specific reasons
Doctor–patient relationship issues (including not with preferred GP and doctor reasons)	5³^,⁸^,²¹^,²⁴^,²⁶
Issues with booking system	3 ³^,²¹^–²²
Miscommunication	3 ⁸^,²⁴^–²⁵
Monday appointment	3 ²⁷^–²⁹
Not receiving a reminder	1 ¹⁹