Gastroenterology Professionals' Perspectives on Transition Care: Insights from a Poll

Abstract

Asia created guidelines for assisting patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) during the transitional stage of care. The knowledge of pediatric gastroenterologists served as the main source of inspiration for these suggestions. The attitudes and expectations of their adult gastroenterology colleagues have to be understood by pediatric gastroenterologists in order to improve and modify these guidelines. In order to clarify adult gastroenterologists' viewpoints on efficient transitional care, the first pan-Asian survey was launched in response to this need. Adult gastroenterologists connected with the Inflammatory Bowel Diseases Study Group under the Asian Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare were surveyed in these facilities. Regular mail was used to deliver the survey, with a focus on non-anonymized responses. Following thorough subgroup analyses, it covered 100 qualifying institutions. The survey received a commendable 34% response rate, which produced insightful results. An important finding was that 76% of respondents said it was difficult to switch IBD children from pediatric gastroenterologists to adult gastroenterologists. 94% of interviewees agreed that adolescent IBD patients should move to adult treatment as the best healthcare approach. However, only 27% of those surveyed said they had no qualms about transferring kids from pediatric care institutions. The study also identified two crucial areas that need to be improved: giving patients access to thorough clinical summaries and encouraging their independence from parental or caregiver supervision. These results highlight the need of developing a well-coordinated transitional program for IBD patients with childhood beginnings in Asia as well as the urgent requirement to improve communication and cooperation between adult and pediatric gastroenterologists in the area.