Measurable Outcomes After Transfer From Pediatric to Adult Providers in Youth With Chronic Illness

Children with chronic medical conditions are requiring transition services to prepare for transfer of care. There has been little data on what qualifies as a successful transition or how to measure this goal. The purpose of this review was to identify measurable patient-level outcomes for transitioning youth with chronic illness from pediatric to adult health care. An integrative literature search was conducted using CINAHL and OVID Medline. Key words included transition to adult care and health transition. Research articles published between 2002 and 2015 and reported on measurable patient-level outcomes in youth with chronic illnesses were included. The initial search yielded 556 articles and 19 articles were selected. Most of the research reporting on outcomes after transfer is nonexperimental using secondary data. Additionally, there is inconsistency in the use of term transition. In the specific outcomes identified, there is little uniformity in measurement both in terms of timing and standardization of measurement. Further research is needed on outcomes after transfer that includes standardized measures and time intervals in order to evaluate successful transition services. This research is essential for health care providers who are instrumental in supporting young people during this high risk period.