Problems in transition from pediatric care to adult care for individuals with diabetes

OBJECTIVE: A previous survey in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, identified transition from pediatric to adult-care services for individuals with type 1 diabetes as problematic and, in certain cases, resulting in loss of medical follow-up. The present survey was conducted to establish the generalizability of the Montreal findings to Calgary, Alberta, a Canadian city in a different geographic region from Montreal and one using a different care-delivery model. METHOD: Using the same questionnaire as was used in Montreal, patients with diabetes who had been transferred from the diabetes clinic at the Alberta Children's Hospital to adult-care services from June 1992 to June 1997 were surveyed (n=154). A modified Dillman method was used to conduct the survey. RESULTS: The response rate was 61.8%. Usable data was available for 51% of the 154 eligible subjects. No significant differences relating to age of transition of diabetes care were noted between respondents from Calgary and those who participated in the previous Montreal survey. Similar problems in transition of care were identified in both cities, despite different models of care delivery. CONCLUSION: These results raise the question of whether identified problems may be due, in part, to psychosocial maturation issues that were not considered during transition of care.