Adolescence usually coincides with a critical period and there is usually a dissociation between chronological age and the maturation process (physical and psychological) at that time. When this step is overcome, the age group between 18 and 25 years is called by some “emerging adulthood”. During this period, young people with chronic diseases enter the field of adult care, experiencing instability or disorders, increasing their vulnerability and risky behaviors. We’re talking about invisible patients.
There are currently no specific health services for this group of patients, which is why some experts call them “invisible patients”. Without a doubt, the needs of this type of people are very different from the needs of other normative groups (children, adults, the elderly?), since they are affected by various factors (physical, emotional, psychological, sociocultural, etc. ).
- Because chronic diseases require a strict and complex care routine.
- In many cases the disease and the resulting situation are difficult to accept.
- While their healthy peers are increasingly free and independent.
- This progression does not occur in the patient (Bell.
- Ferris.
- Fenton.
We need to think that each condition is unique and that there may be cognitive side effects or derived from disease and/or treatment. Then, for example, medications to treat seizures can cause sedation, while those who treat asthma or cancer can cause irritability and difficulty concentrating.
Simply encouraging teens to take the lead and change their parents’ role during the transition to “emerging adulthood?”Improves interaction, diagnosis and therapeutic processes (Van Staa, 2011).
After reviewing countless articles, we have found that the health system is deficient in meeting the needs and particularities of invisible patients. Adult care centers are often not equipped for the complex development needs of this population, which needs professional advice and education. These studies also include two patient wishes: access and use a range of psychosocial services and gain better control over their lives.
The help we can provide to these types of patients is essential to make the transition to adulthood successful, with and despite the disease, for example, we can achieve this by providing them with tools that encourage the development of self-care skills or by providing them with sufficient information about the transition process (Kennedy, Sloman, Douglass
The main objectives to successfully develop these transitions are
Adolescence can be a complicated stage, and it can be even more complicated if there is a limiting disease for which there is currently no treatment, so it is important to work with the adolescent so that he does not become one of those invisible patients. who, after adolescence, feel lost, unenchanted and desperate.
American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Family Physicians and American College of Physicians, Transition Clinical Reporting Authorization Group (2011). Support the transition from adolescent to adult health care in the medical home. Pediatrics, 128 (1), 182-200.
Bell, L. E. , Ferris, M. E. , Fenton, N. y Hooper, S. R. (2011). Transition from adolescent health care with CKD: the journey from pediatric care to adult care. Progress of chronic kidney disease, 18 (5), 384-390.
Okumura, M. J. , Ong, T. , Dawson, D. , Nielson, D. , Lewis, N. , Richards, M. , Kleinhenz, M. E. (2014). Improve the transition from pediatric care to care for adults with cystic fibrosis: implementation and evaluation of the program. BMM Quality
Kennedy, A. , Sloman, F. , Douglass, J. A. et Sawyer, S. M. (2007). Young people with chronic diseases: transition approach, Journal of Internal Medicine, 37 (8), 555-560.
Van Staa, A. (2011). Unravel triad communication in hospital visits with adolescents with chronic diseases: the added value of research in mixed methods. Patient Education and Advice, 82 (3), 455-464
Reid, GJ, Irvine, MJ, McCrindle, BW, Sananes, R. , Ritvo, PG, Siu, SC and Webb, GD (2004). Prevalence and correlations of the successful transfer of paediatric to adult health care among a cohort of young adults with complex congenital heart disease. Pediatrics, 113 (3), E197-E205.