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Evaluating outpatient transition clinics: a mixed-methods study protocol
  1. Jane N T Sattoe1,2,
  2. Mariëlle A C Peeters1,3,
  3. Sander R Hilberink1,
  4. Erwin Ista2,
  5. AnneLoes van Staa1,3
  1. 1Research Centre Innovations in Care, Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
  2. 2Erasmus University Medical Center, Sophia Children's Hospital, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
  3. 3Institute of Health Policy & Management, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
  1. Correspondence to Dr Jane N T Sattoe; j.n.t.sattoe{at}hr.nl

Abstract

Introduction To support young people in their transition to adulthood and transfer to adult care, a number of interventions have been developed. One particularly important intervention is the transition clinic (TC), where paediatric and adult providers collaborate. TCs are often advocated as best practices in transition care for young people with chronic conditions, but little is known about TC models and effects. The proposed study aims to gain insight into the added value of a TC compared with usual care (without a TC).

Methods and analysis We propose a mixed-methods study with a retrospective controlled design consisting of semistructured interviews among healthcare professionals, observations of consultations with young people, chart reviews of young people transferred 2–4 years prior to data collection and questionnaires among the young people included in the chart reviews. Qualitative data will be analysed through thematic analysis and results will provide insights into structures and daily routines of TCs, and experienced barriers and facilitators in transitional care. Quantitatively, within-group differences on clinical outcomes and healthcare use will be studied over the four measurement moments. Subsequently, comparisons will be made between intervention and control groups on all outcomes at all measurement moments. Primary outcomes are ‘no-show after transfer’ (process outcome) and ‘experiences and satisfaction with the transfer’ (patient-reported outcome). Secondary outcomes consider clinical outcomes, healthcare usage, self-management outcomes and perceived quality of care.

Ethics The Medical Ethical Committee of the Erasmus Medical Centre approved the study protocol (MEC-2014-246).

Dissemination Study results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journals and conferences. The study started in September 2014 and will continue until December 2016. The same study design will be used in a national study in 20 diabetes settings (2016–2018).

  • Successful transfer
  • Self-management

This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

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