Assessing mental health transition readiness in youth with medical conditions

Purpose: Many youth with medical conditions also have co-occurring mental health concerns. Limited attention has been given to the mental health transition needs of these youth. We explore bringing transition readiness assessment into the mental health care of youth with co-occurring disorders. Desi...

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Main Authors: Wendy N. Gray, Lauren Partain, Erin Benekos, Carlos Konishi, Adrianne Alpern, Michael Weiss
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2024-01-01
Series:Health Care Transitions
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2949923224000370
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author Wendy N. Gray
Lauren Partain
Erin Benekos
Carlos Konishi
Adrianne Alpern
Michael Weiss
author_facet Wendy N. Gray
Lauren Partain
Erin Benekos
Carlos Konishi
Adrianne Alpern
Michael Weiss
author_sort Wendy N. Gray
collection DOAJ
description Purpose: Many youth with medical conditions also have co-occurring mental health concerns. Limited attention has been given to the mental health transition needs of these youth. We explore bringing transition readiness assessment into the mental health care of youth with co-occurring disorders. Design and Methods: Mental health transition readiness was assessed in transition-aged youth seen in a hospital-based specialty mental health clinic for youth with co-occurring medical and mental health conditions. Patients and/or parents reported on their awareness of transition policies and experiences. Clinicians formally assessed youth mental health transition readiness using the TRXANSITION Index. Results: Only 46.53 % of families knew about the clinic’s transition policy. Less than 1/3 reported their provider ever mentioning transition and only 6.93 % knew the deadline for transfer to adult care. Few patients had a transition goal in their treatment plan, even when required by the payor. By assessing transition readiness, clinicians were able to identify deficits in need of remediation in 95 % of patients. Transition readiness was highest in the following domains of the TRXANSITION Index: Ongoing support (85.15 %), Adherence (78.38 %), and Trade/School (71.29 %). Transition readiness was lowest in New Providers (30.94 %), Rx/Medications (37.99 %), and Insurance (42.57 %). Few knew when their current health insurance coverage would end (10.89 %) or how to get health insurance coverage when they became an adult (11.88 %). Mental health transition readiness and medical condition transition readiness did not differ in a sub-sample of youth with available data, t(14) = −1.33, p =.20. Conclusion: Mental health transition readiness is suboptimal in youth with co-occurring mental health and medical conditions. Findings point to specific targets for future intervention to improve patient mental health transition readiness and patient/family awareness of transition practices.
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spelling doaj-art-e83751e80b8945d3a21f01e3304bce5c2025-08-20T02:07:35ZengElsevierHealth Care Transitions2949-92322024-01-01210007710.1016/j.hctj.2024.100077Assessing mental health transition readiness in youth with medical conditionsWendy N. Gray0Lauren Partain1Erin Benekos2Carlos Konishi3Adrianne Alpern4Michael Weiss5Children’s Health of Orange County, Orange, CA, USA; University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine, Irvine, CA, USA; Correspondence to: Children’s Health of Orange County, 1120 W. La Veta Ave. Ste 450, Orange, CA 92886, USA.Children’s Health of Orange County, Orange, CA, USAChildren’s Health of Orange County, Orange, CA, USAChildren’s Health of Orange County, Orange, CA, USAChildren’s Health of Orange County, Orange, CA, USAChildren’s Health of Orange County, Orange, CA, USA; University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine, Irvine, CA, USAPurpose: Many youth with medical conditions also have co-occurring mental health concerns. Limited attention has been given to the mental health transition needs of these youth. We explore bringing transition readiness assessment into the mental health care of youth with co-occurring disorders. Design and Methods: Mental health transition readiness was assessed in transition-aged youth seen in a hospital-based specialty mental health clinic for youth with co-occurring medical and mental health conditions. Patients and/or parents reported on their awareness of transition policies and experiences. Clinicians formally assessed youth mental health transition readiness using the TRXANSITION Index. Results: Only 46.53 % of families knew about the clinic’s transition policy. Less than 1/3 reported their provider ever mentioning transition and only 6.93 % knew the deadline for transfer to adult care. Few patients had a transition goal in their treatment plan, even when required by the payor. By assessing transition readiness, clinicians were able to identify deficits in need of remediation in 95 % of patients. Transition readiness was highest in the following domains of the TRXANSITION Index: Ongoing support (85.15 %), Adherence (78.38 %), and Trade/School (71.29 %). Transition readiness was lowest in New Providers (30.94 %), Rx/Medications (37.99 %), and Insurance (42.57 %). Few knew when their current health insurance coverage would end (10.89 %) or how to get health insurance coverage when they became an adult (11.88 %). Mental health transition readiness and medical condition transition readiness did not differ in a sub-sample of youth with available data, t(14) = −1.33, p =.20. Conclusion: Mental health transition readiness is suboptimal in youth with co-occurring mental health and medical conditions. Findings point to specific targets for future intervention to improve patient mental health transition readiness and patient/family awareness of transition practices.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2949923224000370Mental healthTransferTransition readinessAdolescents
spellingShingle Wendy N. Gray
Lauren Partain
Erin Benekos
Carlos Konishi
Adrianne Alpern
Michael Weiss
Assessing mental health transition readiness in youth with medical conditions
Health Care Transitions
Mental health
Transfer
Transition readiness
Adolescents
title Assessing mental health transition readiness in youth with medical conditions
title_full Assessing mental health transition readiness in youth with medical conditions
title_fullStr Assessing mental health transition readiness in youth with medical conditions
title_full_unstemmed Assessing mental health transition readiness in youth with medical conditions
title_short Assessing mental health transition readiness in youth with medical conditions
title_sort assessing mental health transition readiness in youth with medical conditions
topic Mental health
Transfer
Transition readiness
Adolescents
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2949923224000370
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