Co-designed healthcare transition interventions for adolescents and young adults with chronic conditions : a scoping review

Purpose: To determine the scope of published literature on healthcare transition (HCT) interventions that have been co-designed with adolescents and young adults with chronic conditions, and to undertake feasibility assessments. Methods: Using Scopus, CINAHL, Medline-Ovid, Cochrane and PsycINFO databases, publications that included a HCT intervention to support paediatric to adult healthcare transition were included. Study location, design, population, description of the intervention, co-design methods, feasibility evidenced using Bowen and colleagues’ framework, and outcome measures were extracted for review. Results: A total of 21 studies were included, relating to 17 co-designed HCT interventions that ranged across multiple medical specialties. There was no standard HCT intervention; characteristics, format and delivery mode varied. Only three studies reported a detailed description of the co-design method(s) used and none reported on the facilitators or barriers. Among the studies, five of Bowen and colleagues’ eight dimensions of feasibility were measured. Conclusions: Despite the co-design process being neither described or evaluated extensively, all codesigned HCT interventions included in this review were considered to be feasible. Nevertheless, HCT interventions varied in their format and delivery method making it difficult to compare between them. Furthermore, interventions were often condition-specific and not representative of the extensive range of chronic conditions.