Are we doing enough for young people with chronic illness?

Abstract

Young people who are chronically ill are a unique and often overlooked patient group needing age-appropriate care and support services and facilities staffed by health professionals trained in adolescent health. A collaborative effort involving all stakeholders is required to address this deficiency within the health system.Of all age groups, young people have experienced the least improvement in survival over the past 25 years, 1 with no significant improvement in health status for them since 1960.2 Adolescence is a recognised period of major psychological and physical change. However, health services are ad hoc, unco-ordinated and fragmented. Consequently, difficulties intrinsic in 'normal' maturation to adult life can be magnified by chronic illness.Few physicians receive training in adolescent medicine and many feel that their specialty training did not provide the necessary skills base for effective management of the sometimes complex social and emotional problems of adolescents.

The adolescent with a chronic condition. Part II: healthcare provision

“…115 116 The creation of adolescent medicine as a subspecialty is still relatively new, 117 118 and only a few countries have set up specific clinics and healthcare teams 95 who adequately meet the standards that these patients deserve. 115 Finally, although the recently published literature gives evidence as to how to improve adherence or adequately address the general health of these adolescents, we still lack evidence on the effectiveness of the curative and preventive approaches suggested by some authors. 7 119-121 In the future, researchers should engage in clinical studies comparing various healthcare approaches and thus be able to indicate which evidence based strategies are the most effective in improving the medical and psychosocial outcome of chronic conditions during this crucial period of life.…”

Cancer in adolescents and young adults: treatment and outcome in Victoria

“…An important development in the United Kingdom has been the establishment of eight “teenage cancer units” with a comprehensive approach to all aspects of care 6 . Preliminary research in Australia and New Zealand by one of our group (J E) highlights gaps in service and support perceived by consumers, concerns yet to be addressed by appropriate policy and funding 7 …”