The inadequacies and challenges of transitioning pediatric rheumatology patients to adult care were highlighted in several research studies shared at the annual scientific meeting of the Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance.
Dr Rebecca Sadun
"Not surprisingly, these studies demonstrate that transition challenges remain pervasive," Rebecca Sadun, MD, PhD, who was not involved in any of the research, said in an interview. Nevertheless, she pointed out that one of the studies showed that eight of nine sites participating in one of the studies had at least developed a formal transition policy, and three were able to fully integrate that policy into their health care system despite the ongoing pandemic.
In that study, Joyce Chang, MD, of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and colleagues used structured interviews and then quantitative research to explore processes for transition polices across nine rheumatology sites. Aside from the three that had already implemented their policies, three others were preparing implementation. The other three withdrew because of COVID-19. None of the sites had reached sustainment phase. Six of the sites had access to a social work network, and two sites had fewer than four providers.
The authors found that a higher level of change efficacy or change commitment using the Organizational Readiness for Implementing Change framework did not correspond with reaching implementation.
