Transition from children's to adult services for young adults with life-limiting conditions: A realist review of the literature
Terminally Ill; Transition to Adult Care; Adolescent; Adult; Child; Humans; Young Adult
BACKGROUND: Improvements in care and treatment have led to more young adults with life-limiting conditions living beyond childhood, which means they must make the transition from children's to adult services. This has proved a challenging process for both young adults and service providers, with complex transition interventions interacting in unpredictable ways with local contexts. OBJECTIVES: To explain how intervention processes interact with contextual factors to help transition from children's to adult services for young adults with life-limiting conditions. DESIGN: Systematic realist review of the literature. DATA SOURCES: Literature was sourced from four electronic databases: Embase, MEDLINE, Science Direct and Cochrane Library from January 1995 to April 2016. This was supplemented with a search in Google Scholar and articles sourced from reference lists of included papers. REVIEW METHODS: Data were extracted using an adapted standardised data extraction tool which included identifying information related to interventions, mechanisms, contextual influences and outcomes. Two reviewers assessed the relevance of papers based on the inclusion criteria. Methodological rigor was assessed using the relevant Critical Appraisal Skills Programme tools. RESULTS: 78 articles were included in the review. Six interventions were identified related to an effective transition to adult services. Contextual factors include the need for children's service providers to collaborate with adult service providers to prepare an environment with knowledgeable staff and adequate resources. Mechanisms triggered by the interventions include a sense of empowerment and agency amongst all stakeholders. CONCLUSIONS: Early planning, collaboration between children's and adult service providers, and a focus on increasing the young adults' confidence in decision-making and engaging with adult services, are vital to a successful transition. Interventions should be tailored to their context and focused not only on organisational procedures but on equipping young adults, parents/carers and staff to engage with each other effectively.
Kerr H; Price J; Nicholl H; O'Halloran P
International Journal of Nursing Studies
2017
Article information provided for research and reference use only. PedPalASCNET does not hold any rights over the resource listed here.
<a href="http://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2017.06.013" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2017.06.013</a>
Bereavement support used by mothers in Ireland following the death of their child from a life-limiting condition
Child; Female; Humans; infant; Male; bereavement; mothers; Adult; Attitude to Death; social support; Self Care; Ireland; Stress; Preschool; Adaptation; Psychological; Newborn; Grief
BACKGROUND: Children's palliative care is a rapidly developing specialism internationally. Bereavement support is an integral component of children's palliative care but to date little research has investigated the bereavement support that mothers in Ireland use following the death of their child. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to explore mothers' experiences of bereavement support in Ireland following the death of their child from a life-limiting condition. METHOD: A descriptive qualitative design was used. The study sample was ten mothers who had been bereaved in the previous 5 years. All mothers were recruited to the study by a gatekeeper from a voluntary organisation. Data were obtained through unstructured single interviews and analysed using conventional content analysis. RESULTS: The findings indicate that the mothers relied on a combination of informal and formal bereavement support. In addition to depending on others to provide support, the mothers described their ability to self-support. CONCLUSIONS: The findings show that mothers in Ireland use a variety of sources of support following the death of their child from a life-limiting condition. Health professionals involved in caring for families and children with a life-limiting condition should have an understanding of these sources.
2014-04
Jennings V; Nicholl H
International Journal Of Palliative Nursing
2014
Article information provided for research and reference use only. PedPalASCNET does not hold any rights over the resource listed here. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).
Journal Article
<a href="http://doi.org/10.12968/ijpn.2014.20.4.173" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">10.12968/ijpn.2014.20.4.173</a>