Evaluating Transition Readiness

Abstract

Objective: Determination of transitional readiness is an essential component of delivery of transition services to adolescents and young adults with chronic diseases, including those with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). To date, this has been performed using the transition checklist (TC). However, clinical experience suggests the validity of the checklist may not be ideal. We sought to evaluate the validity of the TC among adolescents and young adults with IBD (AYA IBD). Methods: We evaluated the validity of the TC compared with a skills-based practicum (TKSP) in a cross-sectional study using a real-world clinical cohort of AYA IBD. Extent of concordance between TC and TKSP was assessed using confusion matrices and calculation of Matthews correlation coefficients. Results: Concordance between self-reported TC answers and TKSP performance varied based on skill/knowledge base assessed, ranging from 81.3% for mastery of knowing one’s medical condition to 39.2% for mastery of knowing one’s medication schedule and 29.3% for mastery of knowing how to refill medications. Matthews correlation coefficients were closer to random prediction than perfect correlation for all skills/knowledge tested. Conclusions: Self-reported TC answers lack sufficient concordance with TKSP performance. Our findings suggest that a TKSP should be performed to assess for transition readiness and to identify individual AYA IBD patient needs during the transition process.