November 15, 2013

Adolescent Transition Care Assessment Tool, Public Education Series No. 12 (2013)

Transition care is a purposeful, planned process that addresses the medical, psychosocial and educational or vocational needs of adolescents and young adults with chronic physical and medical conditions as they move from child-centred to adult-oriented health-care systems.

In Hong Kong, most adolescents with chronic illnesses are managed in the public health-care system. As these patients develop and mature, they would need to move on to adult services. Literature has highlighted the different adverse health outcomes in patients whose care in transition had been poorly managed.

In the past few years, there has been a call for the development of a better transition care service in Hong Kong. Worldwide, various transition models have been proposed but evaluation of model effectiveness has been difficult because of the diverse clinical conditions and many other factors.

Paediatric and adult physicians have identified the following in the development of transition care locally - disease complexity, patient risk stratification, availability of resources, professional expertise and training, volume of patients, regionalization of medical services, and importantly the transition care policy. Progress in the development of transition care has been made.

This Adolescent Transition Care Assessment Tool was developed by HKSAH to assist health professionals in providing a better transition care. Its content is self explanatory. The copy is provided free. You are most welcome to download for your care of adolescents and their families.

Disclaimer: This Education Material is for information only. Users will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters discussed herein which should not replace advices from their health care professionals.
This material is made possible with the assistance from adolescent volunteers. Free download http://hksah.blogspot.hk/

Date of Publication: 1 December 2013
© Hong Kong Society for Adolescent Health

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