Validation of the UNC TRxANSITION Scale™Version 3 Among Mexican Adolescents With Chronic Kidney Disease

There is a lack of valid health care transition readiness (HCT) scales in Spanish.

To provide initial validation of the UNC TRxANSITION Scale™ among Mexican adolescents and young adults (youth) with chronic kidney disease (CKD).

We used the professionally translated/back translated, provider-administered UNC TRxANSITION Scale™ (Ferris et al., 2012). This 33-question scale measures HCT in ten sub-scales including knowledge about diagnosis or treatment, diet, reproductive health, school/work, insurance, ability to self-manage and looking for new health providers. Its maximum score is 10. We enrolled 163 Mexican adolescents (48.5% females) with CKD stage≥3, mean age of 15.1years (±2.1) and whose primary language is Spanish. There were 15 patients on hemodialysis (9.2%) and 30 transplant recipients (18.4%). Results were compared to those reported in adolescents with chronic conditions from the USA.

Our cohort's overall median total score was 5.9. Patients≥16years old had a median total score of 6.4, whereas younger patients had median score of 5.6 (p<0.05). Transplant patients had greater scores in the total and the sub-scales of medication knowledge, issues of reproduction, insurance, trade/work and adherence (p<0.05). When comparing the total score (by age), results from our Mexican youth were similar to those reported in youth from the USA.

In our Mexican cohort of youth with CKD, health care transition readiness is greater in older patients and in transplant recipients. Our cohort's overall score is low, indicating the need for a health care transition preparation program. The UNC TRxANSITION Scale™ results in Mexican youth with CKD are comparable to findings in youth from the USA.