Adolescent, Caregiver, and Young Adult Perspectives of the Transition From Pediatric to Adult Care for Sickle Cell Disease: A Preliminary Evaluation of the Sickle Cell Disease Transition Program

Study Summary

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a debilitating genetic disorder affecting 70,000-100,000 Americans. It is frequently associated with very serious medical complications. For children with SCD, successfully transitioning to adult care is a vital step in ensuring continuity of care, managing their disease, and improving their health outcomes. Transition programs have been created to facilitate the transition process. However, few studies have assessed transition readiness and whether transition program components meet the transition needs of patients and families. The purpose of this study is to explore transitioning from pediatric care to adult care and to assess components of the SJCRH SCD Transition Program from three perspectives: adolescents with SCD, their caregivers, and young adults with SCD who have transitioned to adult care. Data collection methods will include focus groups, questionnaires, and checklists. Qualitative data analysis procedures will be used to examine the data.

Primary Outcome

First, data will be prepared for qualitative analysis. Digital audio files from the focus groups will be transcribed verbatim and questionnaire data will be entered into an Excel data file. Second, focus group data will be qualitatively analyzed using the constant comparative process. A qualitative data analysis program, NVivo9 (Victoria, Australia) will be used to assist with this coding process.

Interventions

• OTHER Assessment