Transition of children to adult care

Abstract

Approximately 10% of young people aged 12-24 years suffer with a chronic condition, and most of these disorders will persist into adulthood 1,2. The age when children are deemed to become adults, at least for health purposes, varies from country to country: the arbitrary cut-off in Malta was fourteen years but, in 2012, this was raised to a more realistic sixteen years. Nevertheless, this age is set artificially to accommodate health care practices and services and does not ‘work’ for all, particularly in those cases where adolescents may have associated problems of cognitive and developmental delay. A rigid cut-off and ‘one-size-fits-all’ transition process is unrealistic. Likewise, a totally unregulated free-for-all process that is solely decided by individual practitioners’ whims is equally unworkable. A compromise position is required that respects the needs of individual adolescents, is cognizant of diverse medical conditions and differing time-frames, yet manages to accommodate all these variables within the prevailing healthcare service.