Barriers and Facilitators to the Transition from Pediatric to Adult Cancer Survivorship Care

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  • September 20, 2019
Creator
  • Farrell, Jordyn
    • Affiliation: Gillings School of Global Public Health, Department of Health Policy and Management
Abstract
  • As more pediatric cancer patients survive their diagnosis, these patients will begin to experience side effects caused by their cancer and treatment. It is critical that these individuals continue to receive long-term follow-up that can monitor for the emergence of these late effects and provide treatment as quickly as possible. However, many of these patients continue to be seen by their pediatric provider or drop out of follow-up completely. This review drew from literature in the field in order to identify the barriers that stakeholders in this transition process are experiencing as well as interventions or experiences that could facilitate a successful transition. Results indicated that a substantial barrier for pediatric providers, patients, and family caregivers was a lack of trust in the adult providers to provide a similar level of care to the pediatric providers. For adult providers, a lack of resources, as well as a lack of knowledge in such a highly-specialized area as late effects of pediatric cancer patients were obstacles in volunteering to accept new adolescent and young adult patients into their practice. Health systems are working with a lack of resources, as well as problems establishing formal connections between pediatric and adult providers. However, if a pediatric cancer treatment program can build the knowledge of adult providers, as well as patients and their families, this can assist in reducing the problems around the lack of trust in adult providers to provide high quality care to these patients. In addition, the establishment of early communication and formal linkages between the pediatric and adult providers has been shown to smooth the transition to a new doctor and reduce the amount of uncertainty and fear that patients may experience.
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  • In Copyright
Advisor
  • Birken, Sarah
Degree
  • Master of Science in Public Health
Academic concentration
  • Health Policy Management
Degree granting institution
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Graduation year
  • 2017
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  • bbb734c5-437c-45b8-8f79-5d2ba9376aa9

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