Development and implementation of an adolescent epilepsy transition clinic.
This article describes the collaborative development of a nurse-led transition clinic within the Comprehensive Epilepsy Program at the Stollery Children's Hospital and at the University of Alberta Hospital. Developed in 2005, our program has been instrumental in assisting 97 teens and their parents' transition from pediatric to adult epilepsy care. Through our Adolescent Epilepsy Transition Clinic, we address concerns expressed by teens and their parents when shifting from pediatric to adult healthcare services, including fear of the unknown, change in appointment location, loss of established relationships, and anticipated decrease in the quality of care posttransition. We also address concerns of adult and pediatric healthcare providers related to the adolescents' working knowledge of how their particular type of epilepsy and its management interact with typical adolescent developmental challenges and future career and lifestyle choices. The results from a process evaluation are presented and offer new insights for improving adolescent transition.
Jurasek
Laura
L
Stollery Children's Hospital, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Laura.Jurasek@capitalhealth.ca
Ray
Lynne
L
Quigley
Daphne
D
D000293:Adolescent; D016497:Adolescent Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D000416:Alberta; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003266:Continuity of Patient Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006776:Hospitals, Pediatric; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D007373:Interinstitutional Relations; D008297:Male; D020380:Needs Assessment; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research; D010044:Outpatient Clinics, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration*; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D010360:Patient Transfer / Q000458:organization & administration*; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000458:organization & administration; D057184:Practice Patterns, Nurses' / Q000458:organization & administration*; D016730:Program Development; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires