Abstract
Background: To investigate the relationships between psychological/social factors and transfer readiness from paediatric to adult rheumatology services in pre- and post-transfer young people (YP) with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA).
Methods: Participants completed questionnaires measuring a broad range of psychological/social factors (generalised anxiety, pain-specific anxiety, pain-related thoughts, depression, prosocial behaviours, problem behaviours, arthritis-related quality of life (QoL), social support, family functioning) and transfer readiness (transfer-related knowledge and skills, health-related self-efficacy). JIA disease activity was measured on the same day as the questionnaires. This study received all relevant ethical and regulatory approvals, and informed consent was received from or on behalf of all participants.
Results: In total, 40 pre-transfer YP with JIA aged 10-16 years (M = 13.54 years, 26 females) and their parents/guardians participated at Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, and 40 post-transfer YP with JIA aged 16-24 years (M = 20.16 years, 26 females) participated at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. For both pre- and post-transfer YP, greater transfer readiness was associated with lower generalised anxiety levels, lower pain-specific anxiety levels, fewer pain-related thoughts, lower depression levels, fewer problem behaviours, better arthritis-related QoL, better social support, and better family functioning. Greater transfer readiness was also associated with less JIA disease activity for post-transfer YP only.
Conclusion: A broad range of psychological/social factors were associated with transfer readiness in pre- and post-transfer YP with JIA. This highlights the importance of assessing and addressing YP’s psychological/social wellbeing during their transition to adult services.
Methods: Participants completed questionnaires measuring a broad range of psychological/social factors (generalised anxiety, pain-specific anxiety, pain-related thoughts, depression, prosocial behaviours, problem behaviours, arthritis-related quality of life (QoL), social support, family functioning) and transfer readiness (transfer-related knowledge and skills, health-related self-efficacy). JIA disease activity was measured on the same day as the questionnaires. This study received all relevant ethical and regulatory approvals, and informed consent was received from or on behalf of all participants.
Results: In total, 40 pre-transfer YP with JIA aged 10-16 years (M = 13.54 years, 26 females) and their parents/guardians participated at Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, and 40 post-transfer YP with JIA aged 16-24 years (M = 20.16 years, 26 females) participated at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. For both pre- and post-transfer YP, greater transfer readiness was associated with lower generalised anxiety levels, lower pain-specific anxiety levels, fewer pain-related thoughts, lower depression levels, fewer problem behaviours, better arthritis-related QoL, better social support, and better family functioning. Greater transfer readiness was also associated with less JIA disease activity for post-transfer YP only.
Conclusion: A broad range of psychological/social factors were associated with transfer readiness in pre- and post-transfer YP with JIA. This highlights the importance of assessing and addressing YP’s psychological/social wellbeing during their transition to adult services.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 3777–3782 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Clinical Rheumatology |
| Volume | 41 |
| Issue number | 12 |
| Early online date | 28 Jul 2022 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Dec 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:We are thankful to the young people and families who took part in this study. We are also thankful to the rheumatology specialist nurses, Maria Forthsythe and Jenny Edgerton, and the wider rheumatology clinical teams at Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust and Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust for their involvement and assistance with this study. Finally, we would like to thank Research and Innovation at Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust and the National Institute for Health Research Sheffield Clinical Research Facility at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust for supporting this research.
Funding Information:
This work was supported by Arthritis Research UK grant reference 20164.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to International League of Associations for Rheumatology (ILAR).