Transition from paediatric to adult care: what makes it easier for parents?

Abstract

Objective: To assess differences between parents of adolescents with chronic illness (CI) going through a self-reported easy or difficult transfer.

Methods: Seventy-two parents of CI youths who had already transferred to adult care were divided according to whether they considered that the transfer had been easy (n = 45) or difficult (n = 27). We performed a bivariate analysis comparing both groups and variables with a significance level < .1 were included in a logistic regression. Results are presented as adjusted odds ratio (aOR).

Results: Over one third of parents (27/72) reported a difficult transfer. At the multivariate level, higher socioeconomic status (aOR: 7.74), parents feeling ready for transfer (aOR: 6.54) and a good coordination between teams (aOR: 7.66) were associated with an easy transfer.

Conclusions: An easy transfer for parents is associated with feeling ready and considering that the coordination between teams is good. Health providers should consider these requisites for a successful transfer.

Keywords: adolescence; chronic illness; parents; transition.