'Adulting' with IBD: Efficacy of a Novel Virtual Transition Workshop for Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease

The rising prevalence of IBD in children corresponds with a need for patient education on transition to adult care. The objective of this study was to design, implement and evaluate a novel transitions program for adolescents with Inflammatory Bowel Disease and their parents, and to assess the impact of this program on transition readiness skills, self-efficacy and participant satisfaction.

Sixteen adolescent-parent dyads participated in the virtual transition workshop. Workshop programming was designed utilizing a biopsychosocial and multidisciplinary approach to IBD management and engagement with healthcare resources. The impact of the workshop was measured utilizing validated self- and parent-report measures of transition readiness (TRAQ), self-efficacy (IBD-SES), depression (PHQ8) and anxiety (GAD7).

Over 60% of participants found the workshop helpful and 92% would recommend it to other teens with IBD. The average adolescent transition readiness score (TRAQ) significantly increased by 5.00 points following the workshop (SD = 7.49, p = 0.04), while total parent scores increased by 10.55 points (SD = 11.15, p = 0.011). As was expected, this demonstrates increased transition readiness skills. The average total adolescent IBD-SES score decreased by 6.75 (SD = 8.95, p = 0.024).

This novel transition program resulted in increased participant transition readiness, as reported by adolescent and parents, indicating the workshop's utility in promoting tangible skill development. Self-efficacy scores did not increase; self-efficacy is a delayed measure of program success and is tied to disease status and other stressors which also changed across time points.

Future directions include continuing the virtual program for increased participation and dissemination, integrating feedback and increasing interdisciplinary involvement.