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. 2024 Dec 18;22(1):105.
doi: 10.1186/s12969-024-01047-2.

Consensus on transition care for juvenile idiopathic arthritis: a Delphi study with youth, caregivers, and health professionals

Nihal Şahin  1 , Gülcan Özomay Baykal  2 , Ceyhun Açarı  3 , Pinar Özge Avar Aydın  4 , Özge Baba  5 , Esra Bağlan  6 , Sevcan Bakkaloğlu  7 , Sibel Bakırcı  8 , Yelda Bilginer  9 , Burcu Yücel Bozkaya  10 , Şengül Çağlayan  2 , Mustafa Çakan  11 , Figen Çakmak  12 , Taner Coşkuner  2 , Ferhat Demir  13 , Fatma Gül Demirkan  14 , Şeyda Doğantan  15 , Hatice Adıgüzel Dündar  16 , Emine Duygu Ersözlü  17 , Sercan Gücenmez  18 , Oğuz Gürler  19 , Rana İşgüder  20 , Adem Küçük  21 , Mukaddes Kalyoncu  5 , Levent Kılıç  22 , Sara Şebnem Kılıç  23 , Hakan Kısaoğlu  24 , Ayşenur Paç Kısaarslan  25 , Zehra Kızıldağ  20 , Duygu Kurtuluş  26 , Semanur Özdel  6 , Kübra Öztürk  27 , Pelin Şenol  7 , Ayşe Tanatar  14 , Sema Nur Taşkın  28 , Fatma Tuncer Kuru  29 , Serkan Türkuçar  30 , Kadir Ulu  2 , Erbil Ünsal  20 , Ayten Yazıcı  31 , Ayşe Cefle  31 , Deniz Gezgin Yıldırım  7 , Selçuk Yüksel  32 , Özgür Kasapçopur  33 , Seza Özen  9 , Nuray Aktay Ayaz  14 , Hafize Emine Sönmez  34 , Betül Sözeri  2
Affiliations

Consensus on transition care for juvenile idiopathic arthritis: a Delphi study with youth, caregivers, and health professionals

Nihal Şahin et al. Pediatr Rheumatol Online J. .

Abstract

Background: The field of transitional care for chronic conditions in adolescents, notably juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), is rapidly growing. Transitioning these patients to adult healthcare systems presents significant challenges in practical implementation. Consequently, it would be appropriate for each country to develop a transition program tailored to its specific infrastructure. To pursue this goal, a Delphi study was conducted to identify the key components of transitional care in JIA.

Methods: Three panels and two rounds were held consisting of adolescents and young adults, parents, and clinicians (pediatric or adult rheumatologists). As a result, feedback on acceptance of the key statements of transitional care was obtained using the Delphi method.

Results: Out of 102 contacted, 88 (86.3%) participants responded to the Round 1 survey, which included 48 clinicians, 20 youths, and 20 parents. In Round 2, the number of clinicians dropped to 29, while the number of youths and parents remained constant. Based on expert opinions, 29 statements were selected for the first round. Statements that received ≥ 70% approval in the first round advanced to the next round. Sixteen statements did not achieve ≥ 70% approval. Of the remaining, 12 were reviewed in the second round, while four were excluded.

Conclusion: Although consensus has been reached on the basic transitional care issues for JIA patients, several issues still need to be agreed upon. Acceptance and applicability of the final 20-item checklist in clinical practice are critical for advancing JIA transition care in Turkey.

Keywords: Adolescent; Arthritis; Chronic disease; Delphi-study; Juvenile; Transition to adult care.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: Kocaeli University Ethics Committee approved the study protocol and adhered to the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki (2023/297). Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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