Transitioning from paediatric to adult care in epilepsy: A qualitative study of adolescent experiences

Transition into adulthood and adult medical care is an important step in the life of young people with epilepsy. We aimed to gain a better insight into the lived experience of the transition to adulthood and adult medical care in epilepsy in Sweden, to improve future transitional care.

A cross-sectional observational study with digital focus-group meetings and interviews with young people with epilepsy (16-22 years, n = 37) prior to, or after the transfer to adult care, or their primary caregivers if they had intellectual disability. We used reflexive thematic analysis to analyse the experiences and expectations on the transition to adulthood and adult medical care.

The results of the thematic analysis included four key areas during transition to adulthood and adult care for young persons with epilepsy: (I) worries on coming changes and future, (II) transfers are not smooth and adult care is less integrated, (III) epilepsy is part of a bigger picture, and (IV) parental roles change. In those with intellectual disability, parents experienced a stressful process and had to increase their efforts to coordinate all care contacts in adult care. Here, epilepsy was often experienced as a minor part of a more complex disease picture, where neurodevelopmental issues were often the primary concern.

Transition in epilepsy is often complex due to the large burden of co-occurring disease, specifically intellectual disability and neuropsychiatric diagnoses. Transfer to adult care is experienced as unplanned and participants experience uncertainty, indicating a need for an improved transition process. As effective interventions are known in other chronic diseases, future studies should focus on the evaluation of how these approaches can be feasible and effective in young people with epilepsy.