Discharge against medical advice from a mission tertiary hospital, South‑West, Nigeria

Abstract

Backround: The fiduciary duty of a managing physician makes paediatric discharges against medical advice (DAMA) particularly challenging as children lack the legal power or authority to make their health decisions. Aim: It is aimed in the present study to determine the prevalence of paediatric DAMA in a mission tertiary hospital. Methods: This was a prospective descriptive study carried out from June 2018 to May 2019 among paediatric inpatients at the Bowen University Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso, Nigeria whose parent/ care giver signed DAMA, despite adequate counselling. Data was analysed using SPSS version 23. Results: The prevalence of DAMA in the study was of 4.1%, and the neonatal group accounted for the largest bulk of DAMA. Birth asphyxia was the commonest diagnosis among this group. There was a slight female predominance among the patients whose parents signed DAMA. Financial constraint was the commonest reason [13(30.2%)] given for DAMA and none of the children whose parents signed DAMA was enrolled on the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). Conclusion: Rate of DAMA in a private mission tertiary hospital was lower than previously reported from government tertiary hospitals in the present-day Nigeria.