Transitional urology: a comprehensive review of the transitional care process

Area of Science:

• Urology
• Healthcare Management
• Patient Transition

Background:

• Patients with congenital genitourinary conditions face significant challenges during the transition from pediatric to adult healthcare.
• These challenges include managing complex medical needs, navigating the healthcare system, and psychosocial development, leading to poorer health outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the complexities of care transition for adolescents and young adults with congenital genitourinary conditions.
• To highlight the importance of transitional urology in improving health outcomes and quality of life for this population.
• To identify research gaps and propose future directions in transitional urology.

Main Methods:

• Literature review and synthesis of existing research on transitional care in urology.
• Analysis of challenges, barriers, and models of care in transitional urology.
• Proposal of an idealized transition schema to guide future research and practice.

Main Results:

• Care transition issues lead to increased emergency visits, persistent urinary symptoms, reduced quality of life, and inadequate adult urological care.
• Effective transitional care improves age-appropriate subspecialty care and reduces the burden on pediatric providers.
• Transitional urology is a high-priority research area with a need for more data on care models and patient outcomes.

Conclusions:

• Optimizing the transition from pediatric to adult care is essential for individuals with congenital genitourinary conditions.
• Further research is needed in outcomes-based studies, care model comparisons, and resource validation for transitional urology.
• An idealized transition schema can serve as a framework for improving transitional care programs.