Receipt of health care transition counseling in the national survey of adult transition and health.

OBJECTIVE

The goal of this study was to examine factors associated with receiving health care transition counseling services as reported by young adults.

METHODS

We analyzed data from the 2007 Survey of Adult Transition and Health, a nationwide survey of young adults aged 19 to 23 years conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics, to explore self-reported receipt of services to support transition from pediatric to adult health care. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify whether sociodemographic characteristics, health status, or markers of provider-youth health communication were associated with the receipt of 3 key transition counseling services.

RESULTS

Among the 1865 Survey of Adult Transition and Health respondents, 55% reported that their physicians or other health care providers had discussed how their needs would change with age, 53% reported that their physicians or other health care providers had discussed how to obtain health insurance as an adult, and 62% reported having participated in a transition plan in school. Only 24% reported receiving all 3 transition counseling services. In multivariate logistic regression analyses, although gender, age, and race were not associated with increased receipt of the transition-related outcomes, markers of strong communication with the health system were associated with increased rates of receiving transition guidance.

CONCLUSIONS

Many young adults reported not having received health care transition counseling. Provider-youth communication was associated with increased health care transition guidance, and suggests that a medical home model that promotes anticipatory guidance for health care transition could promote improvements in the transition process.