NAPNAP Releases New Position Statement Supporting the Transition from Pediatric to Adult-Focused Health Care
Organization lays out recommended guidelines as pediatric patients transition to adult care.
NEW YORK, Sept. 23, 2020 – In its recently published position statement, the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP) supports pediatric-focused advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) and their interprofessional partners to incorporate evidence-based care and nationally recommended best practices for the effective transition of all adolescents and young adults, with and without special health care needs, to adult care.
“As pediatric-focused APRNs, we have the expertise necessary for the successful transitioning of adolescents to adult-focused health care services, but equally as important, we have built trusting relationships with patients and their families to help guide them through this critical transition,” said NAPNAP President Jessica Peck, DNP, APRN, CPNP-PC, CNE, CNL, FAANP.
The position statement references a 2017-18 National Survey of Children’s Health survey which found that only 19% of youth with special health care needs and 14% of you without special health care needs received services for transition planning to adult care. A lack of transition can negatively impact the level of care a child receives post-transition.
In the position statement, NAPNAP provides six recommendations, including: an individualized, developmentally sensitive health care transition process, starting the transition process as young as age 12; the use of nationally accepted best practices laid out by the American Academy of Pediatrics; three components, planning, transfer and integration, in the health care transition; developing health care transition approaches that can be adapted to any setting or specialty and relying on the expertise of the pediatric-focused advanced practice registered nurse.
NAPNAP is committed to promoting optimal health and wellbeing for all youth and supporting the role of pediatric clinicians in leading and coordinating health care transition planning, transfer, and assisting their adult counterparts to offer a smooth integration into adult care.
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The National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP) is the nation’s only professional association for pediatric-focused advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) dedicated to improving the quality of health care for infants, children, adolescents and young adults. Representing more than 8,000 healthcare practitioners with 18 special interest groups and 53 chapters, NAPNAP has been advocating for children’s health since 1973 and was the first APRN society in the U.S. Our mission is to empower pediatric-focused advanced practice registered nurses and key partners to optimize child and family health. www.NAPNAP.org
