Background/objectives: Care continuity prevents increased health care utilization and mortality during transition from pediatric to adult care. Our program employs a co-located care delivery model, in which pediatric provider involvement continues during young adulthood. We tested the hypothesis that individuals who participated in the co-located model have greater retention in adult care compared to those who only received pediatric transition services.
Methods: This study consisted of 311 youth with SCD (51.4% male; 63.0% HbSS/HbSβ0 -thalassemia) who transferred to adult care from 2007 to 2017. Retention was defined as continuation with an adult provider for ≥12 or ≥24 months post-pediatric care. Logistic regression estimated the association between co-location status and retention at 12 and 24 months. Logistic regression and t-tests were used to evaluate potential predictors of retention in adult care.
Results: Individuals who participated in the co-location model were 1.9 times more likely to remain in adult care 12 (95% CI: 1.01, 3.47) and 24 (95% CI: 1.01, 3.70) months post-pediatric care compared to those who did not participate. Individuals with HbSS/HbSβ0 -thalassemia were 1.9 times more likely to be retained at 12 months compared to those with HbSC/HbSβ+ -thalassemia/HbS/HPFH (95% CI: 1.12, 3.09). For every clinic encounter in the last 2 years of pediatric care, the odds of being retained at least 24 months after initiating adult care increased 1.1 times (95% CI: 1.02, 1.13).
Conclusions: Continuity of providers from pediatric to adult care may increase long-term retention in adult care. Longitudinal monitoring of adult outcomes is critical to identifying the efficacy of transition services.
Keywords: adult care retention; care continuity; health care transition; sickle cell disease; transition to adult care.
© 2021 Wiley Periodicals LLC.