Affiliations: USC Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA | University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA | Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA | University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA | Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA | College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
Note: [] Corresponding author: Cecily L. Betz, University of Southern
California, University Center of Excellence for Developmental Disabilities,
Children's Hospital Los Angeles. 4650 Sunset Blvd. Mailstop 53, Los Angeles, CA
90027, USA. Tel.: +1 323 361 8524; Fax: +1 323 361 8305; E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: The body of health care transition (HCT) research is in the early
stages of development. One of the major limitations of this developing field of
research is the lack of theoretically-directed studies. This research
limitation has hindered understanding of the variables contributing to
successful HCT. The inadequate understanding of HCT is due largely to the
absence of an adequate conceptual model that addresses the complexity and the
relationships amongst variables that influence HCT outcomes among adolescents
and emerging adults with special health care needs (AEA-SHCN). Existing
conceptual models do not sufficiently address the significant
interrelationships amongst variables to explain, predict and/or control
AEA-SHCN's biopsychosocial HCT outcomes. This article provides a description of
a health care transition theoretical model developed by the international and
interdisciplinary Health Care Transition Research Consortium (HCTRC) that can
be applied for testing in research and serve as a framework for clinical
practice and policymaking. The HCTRC model is composed of four domains that are
considered integral to the HCT phenomenon: Individual, Family/Social Support,
Environment, and the Health Care System. The HCTRC model specifies the
variables, processes, and potential mediators and moderators that affect the
HCT outcomes.
Keywords: Health care transition, theoretical framework, health care transition model, adolescents and emerging adults with special health care needs
