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Healthcare transition (HCT) preparation from pediatric- to adult-focused care is a process that aims to improve health outcomes among youth with chronic conditions. Assessment of HCT readiness guides youth, families and health providers about skills that have been achieved by the youth or those that need improvement. Arabic-speaking youth with chronic conditions have been under-represented in the HCT literature.
The 18-item self-administered STARx Questionnaire (clinical version, maximum score of 90) has been translated into 8 languages and is utilized in 15 countries. After Arabic translation/back translation from and to English, youth with chronic conditions and their caregivers consented/assented to our study the summer of 2022. Ethics approval from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Zagazig University hospital in Zagazig, Egypt was obtained.
We enrolled 107 youths with the following characteristics: 64 males (60%); mean age 13.3±1.2 years (range 10-16); 26 (24%) had kidney conditions, 35 (33%) had thalassemia and 46 (43%) had diabetes mellitus (21 insulin injections/week); median number of medications was 2 (range 0-4). All youths attended public school and completed on average 8th±1 grade the previous year. Their overall STARx Questionnaire score was 54.30±4.52/90 with a weak positive correlation between age and the STARx Questionnaire score
In this Arabic-speaking cohort of youth with chronic conditions, the average HCT readiness score was 54/90 with the best domain in disease knowledge. As in other countries, we observed significant sex differences about self-management and medication adherence which require attention to improve long-term outcomes. Providers need to develop strategies to augment HCT readiness.