Attitudes and Experiences of Adolescents in an Innovative IBD Transition Service

Abstract

The predominant focus of transition in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) management is for the young person to develop autonomy and be educated in disease awareness, self-management and decision-making within the health care setting. A joint, bimonthly transition clinic was set up in the paediatric setting, to design an effective collaborative adolescent IBD transition service tailored to meet the needs of adolescents and their parents. In this article, the extent to which this service helped in preparing adolescents and their family for transfer to adult services, while enabling joint collaborative working, will be evaluated.