Understanding Continuity of Care for Pediatric Chronic Diseases: A Scoping Review

Understanding the barriers to and best practices for continuity of care could significantly enhance treatment and equal access to care, especially in vulnerable pediatric settings, where services extend beyond conventional health care facilities.

To identify key features of continuity of care in the treatment of common somatic chronic diseases in children and adolescents that support effective implementation in care practice.

A systematic scoping review using Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses for Scoping Reviews was conducted. Pubmed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Web of Knowledge, and Global Index Medicus were systematically searched.

Inclusion criteria were: focus on pediatric patients, delivery, or experience with continuity of care and care for chronic diseases.

The selected studies were qualitatively analyzed using content and thematic analysis.

From 1425 identified records, 25 papers were included for analysis. Two themes were identified: "how to ensure high-quality care coordination" and "what to focus on for high-quality care coordination." The identified records were dominated by the perspectives of carers and health care professionals. Children's experiences were limited.

Literature on transitions to adult health care services was excluded, which might have limited insights into flexible care-management approaches.

High-quality care requires central coordination based on care plans. Care plans need to include communication channels and clear role allocation. High-quality care coordination requires flexibility and adaptation to patient development and changing priorities along the patient journey. Understanding this can only be achieved through building of relationships between all those involved in care, including health service providers, the patients' family, and peers.