Early Care Transitions Beneficial for Adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes

The following article is part of The Clinical Advisor’s coverage from the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners’ 39th National Conference on Pediatric Health Care in Chicago. Our staff will be reporting live on the latest news and clinically relevant practice information from leading pediatric NPs in many specialty areas. Check back for ongoing updates from NAPNAP 2018.

CHICAGO—For adolescents with type 1 diabetes, implementing a transition health service may better prepare patients to efficiently manage their diabetes as adults, according to research presented at the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners 39th National Conference on Pediatric Health Care.

Jeanne Little, DNP, APRN, CPNP-AC/PC, assistant professor at Rush College of Nursing in Chicago, and Aparna Bindiganavale, BSN, RN, CDE of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, generated a model based on national transition guidelines to facilitate the healthcare transition from adolescence to adulthood in patients with diabetes.

During general visits, patients filled out the Transition Readiness Assessment Questionnaire (TRAQ) to report how prepared they were about their self-management skills.

Of the 33 eligible patients, 21 completed the initial survey with an average score of 66.62 (of 100); the average hemoglobin A1c for the entire eligible cohort was 9.54%. Higher TRAQ scores were not correlated with HbA1c levels.

Volunteers had overall low skills in maintaining appointments and monitoring health issues but were confident in daily activity management, communication with providers, and adhering to medications.

“While adolescents expressed confidence in medication management, the group mean HbA1c level was well above the American Diabetes Association target,” wrote the authors.

“Demonstrating a correlation between higher TRAQ scores and lower HbA1c levels is a major goal for adolescents moving toward transition to adult care,” continued the authors. “Further, areas such as knowledge of health insurance and medical payments and completion of medical forms required more focused education and goal setting.”

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Reference

1. Little J, Bindiganavale A. Implementation of a diabetes transition of care program. Presented at the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners 2018 National Conference; March 19-22, 2018; Chicago.