Transition from paediatric to adult care: what makes it easier for parents?

To assess differences between parents of adolescents with chronic illness (CI) going through a self-reported easy or difficult transfer.

Seventy-two parents of CI youths who had already transferred to adult care were divided according to whether they considered that the transfer had been easy (n = 45) or difficult (n = 27). We performed a bivariate analysis comparing both groups and variables with a significance level < .1 were included in a logistic regression. Results are presented as adjusted odds ratio (aOR).

Over one third of parents (27/72) reported a difficult transfer. At the multivariate level, higher socioeconomic status (aOR: 7.74), parents feeling ready for transfer (aOR: 6.54) and a good coordination between teams (aOR: 7.66) were associated with an easy transfer.

An easy transfer for parents is associated with feeling ready and considering that the coordination between teams is good. Health providers should consider these requisites for a successful transfer.