Abstract for:Modeling Effectiveness of Health Care Transition Systems

Study Purpose: This study is designed for modeling and exploration of systems associated with health care transition (HCT) for adolescents and emerging adults (AEA) with special health care needs (SHCN) (hereinafter referred to as AEA-SHCN). \

Background/Relevance: HCT for AEA-SHCN is generally defined as “transfer of adolescents and young adults with chronic physical and medical conditions from child-centered to adult-oriented health care systems.” It is a complex public health problem directly affecting, annually, an estimated 4 million children and families in the United States. Ineffective HCT further impacts broader society, as evidenced in high and rising public health care costs attributable to both avoidable health care utilization and poor health risk mitigation for individuals with SHCN. Given its broad scale of impact, HCT for AEA-SHCN is increasingly recognized as a research imperative. While it is broadly acknowledged that interactions among organizations are needed to address complex public health problems, relations among organizations associated with HCT are under-investigated and poorly understood.

Methods/Implications: This study will use a System Dynamics model to examine HCT systems for AEA-SHCN as approach to study interrelationship among elements in health services systems, thus advancing understanding of complex systems and policy subsystems associated with HCT for AEA-SHCN. 

Results: In progress.