The Extent of Preparation for Health Care Transition Provided to OK Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs

摘要

In 2011 the American Academy of Pediatrics with support from the American Academy of Family Practice and the American College of Physicians published a report that provided transition preparation planning, tracking and follow through beginning in early adolescence and continuing into young adulthood. To assess the status of transition planning in Oklahoma, the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) Title 5 program in collaboration with University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center Sooner SUCCESS (State Unified Children's Comprehensive Exemplary Services for Special Needs) surveyed primary care pediatric practices and families of children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN) to determine the extent of transition planning. The surveys found that while most pediatric practices (77%) report having a process for transition, 94% of those reporting described it as informal and unstructured. From the family perspective of parents with CYSHCN between ages 12-21 years, 70% reported having no transition plans and from those with a plan, all the possible options for the families were not understood. Few practices reported any monitoring process, leading the way to transition gaps that need to be addressed.