Summary

The TRANSITION-Q is a clinically meaningful scale that can be used in transition programs with adolescents starting at 12 years of age to measure and track the development of skills they need to manage their health and healthcare. The Instrument was developed by Drs. Anne Klassen, Jan Willem Gorter and Christina Grant at McMaster University.

The TRANSITION-Q is a 14-item scale that measures self-management skills in healthcare, intended for adolescents aged 12 to 18 years across a broad range of chronic health conditions.

The content of the scale was designed to include a range of skills that young adolescents should be able to do (e.g. answer a doctor’s or nurse’s questions) to skills that may require instruction or training (e.g. book a clinical appointment).

The TRANSITION-Q can be used in clinical practice by healthcare professionals to help adolescents develop the skills needed to take care of their health and healthcare needs as adults. The instrument can also be used in research studies to understand factors that influence transition readiness.

The use of the scale in clinical practice by healthcare providers (e.g., with electronic data collection and real-time generation of patient reports) would make it possible to identify patients’ strengths as well as areas for improvement so that these can be addressed.