The transition process for adolescents with an endocrine pathology: quality of life, drop-out, and self-management skills

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Abstract
Purpose We analyzed patients with chronic endocrinopathies who transited in our clinic in Verona from 2010 to 2023 to assess the effectiveness of the transition process by measuring adherence to follow-up visits, experience and satisfaction with the transition process, the perception of their self-management skills and the assessment of the quality of life of these patients. Methods 70 patients with nine different chronic endocrinopathies were included in this study. Clinical data have been collected through the consultation of medical records. Moreover, subjects have been offered an online, anonymous questionnaire. Adherence to follow-up visits was assessed by detecting the last control visit. A Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) measured satisfaction with the transition process. Evaluation of the perception of one’s self-management skills and quality of life was carried out through the “On Your Own Feet–Self-Efficacy Scale” (OYOF-SES) and SF-36®, respectively. Results We found a drop-out rate from follow up of 28.6%, which is in line with the data in the literature, with significant variability among the individual endocrinological diseases. 82% of the subjects were satisfied with their experience at the Transition Clinic. There was a good capacity for self-management, with high scores obtained at OYOF-SES. The perceived quality of life is also overall good, except for mental health, which was lower than the reference healthy population. Conclusions Despite the improvement in the drop-out rate and the results in terms of self-management and quality of life obtained by our Transition Clinic in Verona, constant analysis and implementation of individualized transition processes are necessary to ensure their optimum effectiveness, paying greater attention to the quality of mental health.

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