“The Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative estimates that one million US children with special health needs make the transition to adult care every year. A large proportion of adolescents/young adults, however, have not been sufficiently prepared for the transfer to adult care”.
This Consensus Report is an important read for teens diagnosed with Celiac Disease, parents and health care providers. It was prepared to assist teens with celiac transition more successfully to adult care, by providing guidelines. Seventeen physicians (pediatricians, gastroenterologists, others) from various countries prepared the report after reviewing literature on the transition of CD care from childhood to adulthood. A wide range of important topics are covered in the report.
Excerpts:
“The process of transition from childhood to adulthood is characterised by physical, mental and psychosocial development. Data on the transition and transfer of care in adolescents/young adults with coeliac disease (CD) are scarce. In this paper, 17 physicians from 10 countries (Sweden, Italy, the USA, Germany, Norway, the Netherlands, Australia, Britain, Israel and Denmark) and two representatives from patient organisations (Association of European Coeliac Societies and the US Celiac Disease Foundation) examined the literature on transition from childhood to adulthood in CD”
“Both the family and the adolescent patient should be at the centre of transition, and the function of the clinician is to balance the parents’ authority and the need for autonomy in the adolescent. Many adolescents/young adults have to work hard to overcome their reliance on their parents. To parents, this means stepping back and allowing their adolescent children to make independent decisions. Both overprotection and insufficient support of the child are undesirable”
Read Abstract and full article published (online) 18 April 2016 HERE.
