Introduction: A smooth transition of healthcare for young
people with chronic illnesses from paediatric to adult
healthcare services is important to ensure optimal outcome.
At the moment, there are no standard guidelines to assess a
patient's readiness to transfer care.
Methods: A cross-sectional study using a self-administered
questionnaire, adapted from UNC (University of North
Carolina) TRxANSITION self-assessment tool was
conducted to evaluate patients’ transition care readiness in
paediatric haematology and paediatric diabetes clinic.
Results: A total of 80 patients (37 thalassaemia and 43
diabetes) with the mean age of 21.2 (SD±4.3) years, were
recruited during the 3-month study period. Majority of the
patients have basic knowledge regarding their medications,
and were able to comply with their follow-up. The mean total
score obtained by the respondents on this questionnaire
was 15.3 (SD±3.59). Self-management skills and knowledge
on disease were the two poorly scored section; with mean
score of 3.78 (SD±1.38) and 4.28 (SD±1.20) respectively.
Overall, only 21 (26.2%) respondents obtained high score
(score above 75th percentile). Seventy-five percent of the
respondents admitted that they were not ready for transfer
to an adult healthcare service yet at the time of the study.
Conclusion: We suggest that patients with high score
should be prepared for transition to adult facility whereas
those with a low score need to be identified to ensure
provision of continuous education.