The four I's of adolescent transition in type 1 diabetes care: A qualitative study

Aims To explore adolescent perspectives on programme design in the transition to adult care. Methods We conducted five focus groups on adolescents with type 1 diabetes nearing the age of transition to adult care. Study participants also completed an embedded survey where they rated a wide range of potential transition interventions. Focus group transcripts were analysed with three iterations of line‐by‐line coding to triangulate themes and subthemes. Results Four themes were identified: Individualization—how to personalize the transition experience (having choices in the transition experience, meeting adult provider before transition and specific transition preparation); Identity—how the world relates to my diabetes (stigma of type 1 diabetes, confusion with type 2 diabetes, diagnosis disclosure and resilience); Interconnection—how my support system can help me with my diabetes (peer support, near peer support, parental support, loss of bond with paediatric team and fear of not having a bond with adult team); and Impediment—how my diabetes limits me (self‐care takes work and time, unpredictability and restrictiveness, and emotional burden). Highly rated interventions from the survey included: good communication between the paediatric and adult teams, medical summary of past diabetes care, and having paediatric and adult teams in the same building. Conclusions The design of future transition interventions for adolescents with type 1 diabetes should address the issues of Individualization, Identity, Interconnection and Impediment. Collaborative processes between paediatric and adult providers were also rated as important strategies to facilitate the transition to adult care.