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Transition in chronic illness: Who is going where?

Katharine S Steinbeck1, Lynne Brodie, Susan J Towns

  • 1Endocrinology and Adolescent Medicine, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and the University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. kss@email.cs.nsw.gov.au

Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health
|October 22, 2008
PubMed

Insights

Effective transition from pediatric to adult care is crucial for young people with chronic illnesses. This study highlights the need for better data collection and management to support this critical process.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric healthcare transition
  • Chronic illness management
  • Healthcare systems research

Background:

  • Increasing survival rates for childhood chronic illnesses necessitate a focus on transitioning care to adult services.
  • Strategic planning and optimal patient management require accurate data on patient numbers.
  • The New South Wales Greater Metropolitan Clinical Taskforce Transition Program initiated a data collection exercise.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess the current state of patient data collection for chronic illness transition care.
  • To identify the prevalence of different clinical groups requiring transition to adult care.
  • To inform strategic planning for improving the transition process.

Main Methods:

  • Face-to-face interviews with over 200 clinicians across 68 clinical services in tertiary pediatric hospitals.
  • Data collected between August 2004 and October 2005.
  • Information gathered on approximately 4200 patients.

Main Results:

  • Sixty-eight services maintained chronic illness patient databases, with less than half being electronic.
  • Only 12% of services could specifically identify patients actively transitioning.
  • Top clinical groups needing transition included diabetes, endocrinology, neurology, spina bifida, and gastroenterology.

Conclusions:

  • A significant number of young individuals with chronic illness and disability require effective transition to adult care.
  • The study identified key pediatric aspects of the transition process needing improvement.
  • Enhanced data management is essential for successful healthcare transitions.
Abstract

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