Survey on the Reasons for Poor Attendance to The Monthly Catholic Doctors Meeting by Catholic Doctors in Abakaliki Diocese, Ebonyi State, Nigeria

Introduction: The Association of Catholic Medical Practitioners of Nigeria (ACMPN) unites all Catholic medical doctors and dental surgeons in all the 56 dioceses across the Nigerian country. It works to promote personal and group evangelization, foster professional excellence and Catholic medical ethics. However, it is faced with membership challenge and poor attendance to meetings. In Abakaliki Diocese, the association started in 2006 and is still faced with this same problem. Hence, the need to identify the causes and proffer solutions. Methodology: A Google form was created and circulated on the association’s whatsapp platform for 7 months. Information on the knowledge of the association, membership registration, last attendant to monthly meetings, reasons for not attending meetings and suggested ways of improvement were gotten and analyzed manually. Result: The knowledge of ACMPN among catholic medical practitioners in Abakaliki diocese was not in doubt. However majority didn’t attend meeting within the last one year with reasons centered on venue, timing and day. Most persons didn’t specify reasons for non-attendants to monthly. Need for more sensitization, Follow up of members through visitation, shifting the time, change in day, prayers and departmental hosting/membership drive were mostly suggested as ways for improvement. Conclusion: The knowledge of the association among supposed members are not in doubt, so there is need for intensified sensitization and mobilization, home visitation and consideration of time shifting downward to see if it will improve attendance