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. 2023 May-Jun;99(3):254-262.
doi: 10.1016/j.jped.2022.10.006. Epub 2022 Nov 22.

Factors related to the readiness of Brazilian chronic pediatric patients to transition to care in adult clinics

Fernanda Souza Angotti Carrara  1 , Daniela Gerent Petry Piotto  2 , Ilana Izidoro Silva  2 , Claudio Arnaldo Len  2 , Gleice Clemente Souza Russo  2 , Sonia Mayumi Chiba  3 , Vera Lucia Sdepanian  4 , Josefina Aparecida Pellegrini Braga  5 , Maria Stella Figueiredo  6 , Maria Cristina Andrade  7 , Marta Liliane de Almeida Maia  7 , Ana Lúcia Abreu  7 , Celia Maria Camelo Silva  8 , Maria Teresa Terreri  2
Affiliations

Factors related to the readiness of Brazilian chronic pediatric patients to transition to care in adult clinics

Fernanda Souza Angotti Carrara et al. J Pediatr (Rio J). 2023 May-Jun.

Abstract

Objective: Advances in medicine have increased the life expectancy of pediatric patients with chronic illnesses, and challenges with the guided transition of adolescents and young adults from pediatric clinics to adult clinics have grown. The aim of this study was to better understand readiness and factors related to this transition process in Brazil.

Method: In this cross-sectional study of 308 patients aged from 16 to 21 years under follow-up in pediatric specialties, the degree of readiness for transition was assessed using the Transition Readiness Assessment Questionnaire (TRAQ) and its domains. Associations with demographic data, clinical data, socio-economic level, medication adherence, family functionality, and parental satisfaction with health care were evaluated.

Results: The median TRAQ score was 3.7 (3.2 - 4.2). Better readiness was associated with female patients, socio-economic class A-B, current active employment, higher level of education, not failing any school year, attending medical appointments alone, functional family, and a good knowledge of disease and medications. A low correlation was observed between TRAQ and age. TRAQ presented good internal consistency (alpha-Cronbach 0.86). In the multiple linear regression, TRAQ score showed a significant association with female gender, advanced age, socio-economic class A-B, better knowledge of disease and medications, and independence to attend appointments alone.

Conclusion: TRAQ instrument can guide healthcare professionals to identify specific areas of approach, in order to support adolescents with chronic disease to set goals for their own personal development and improve their readiness to enter into the adult healthcare system. In this study, some factors were related to better TRAQ scores.

Keywords: Adolescent; Chronic health conditions; Transition Readiness Assessment Questionnaire (TRAQ); Transition readiness; Young adult.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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