LAUSR

The transition from childhood to adulthood is a key life stage. While the time course of the bio-psycho-social development of young people is continuous, many of the health and social care services with which they may be involved have relatively fixed, rigid structures. This can be challenging for young adults: leading to a sense of marginalisation and alienation. Young people with long term health or social care needs and who require on-going support as they exit childhood are often further challenged by the requirement to move from a children”s service (with which they are familiar) to an adult service: one requiring new relationships and with differing expectations. Evidence supports the view that young people may be lost in the gap between children”s and adult services, with a negative impact on longer-term health. Good practice in ‘transitional” care (‘a multi-faceted, active process that attends to the medical, psychological and educational/vocational needs of adolescents as they move from child to adult-centred care”, Blum 1993) can improve engagement and result in positive longer-term outcomes. Developmentally appropriate services recognise young people as a distinct group, subject to constantly changing circumstances. This model considers the young person as a whole: addressing their biological, psychological and social development in the broadest terms. Critically, the approach supports the young person to take an active role in the processes with which they are involved. While developmentally appropriate care and ‘transition” are not equivalent, a developmentally appropriate approach to transition has clear benefits: seeing the process as being outcome and skills-based, rather than time-based. Adolescence and early adulthood are times when life-long health behaviours are set in place; good health for young people is a foundation for good health in later life. There is a need to invest in age appropriate health promotion and youth-friendly health services if we are truly committed to improving young people”s health outcomes and the health of the adult population they will go on to form. There is an opportunity to develop and sustain a generational shift in health literacy and health-related behaviours: a real legacy; and an investment in the future. Reference: [1] Farre, A, Wood V, Radley T, et al. 2015. Developmentally appropriate healthcare for young people: a scoping study. Arch Dis Child 100: 144-151 Disclosure of Interests: None declared