Adult Provider Perspectives on Transition and Transfer to Adult Care: A Multi-Specialty, Multi-Institutional...

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Transition Research
• Adult Care Barriers
• Interdisciplinary Care Coordination

Background:

• Transitioning young adults from pediatric to adult healthcare settings presents unique challenges.
• Identifying common barriers across multiple adult care specialties is crucial for optimizing care.
• Existing research often focuses on specific conditions rather than broad transitional issues.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify barriers that affect adult care providers across various specialties.
• To explore potential solutions for improving the transition of care for adult patients.
• To understand the impact of family dynamics and provider knowledge on patient care.

Main Methods:

• Conducted six semi-structured focus group interviews with 21 adult care providers.
• Included specialists from internal medicine, family medicine, gastroenterology, endocrinology, and neurology.
• Analyzed data using the Socio-ecological Model of Adolescent/Young Adult Readiness for Transition (SMART).

Main Results:

• Identified key barriers within the SMART model's domains: beliefs/expectations, knowledge, access/insurance, and relationships.
• Family beliefs about the provider role, difficulty accessing reliable information, and limited mental/behavioral health access were significant issues.
• These barriers impede providers' ability to deliver optimal healthcare to newly transferred adult patients.

Conclusions:

• Adult care providers face multiple barriers in managing newly transferred patients.
• Recommendations include enhanced family education and improved inter-provider communication.
• Addressing access and insurance barriers requires systemic collaboration between healthcare systems and payors.