Teens with HIV Need Transition to Adult Care

published on June 24, 2013 in MedPage Today

HIV-positive adolescents, who face isolation, ostracization, and confusion as they transition to adulthood, need sensitive and directed guidance to an adult healthcare provider, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Clinicians should follow four steps to guide HIV-positive teens to successfully maintain their healthcare: create a formal, written transition care plan, start communications about HIV status and transition around age 12, make the transition between 18 to 25 years of age, and document and evaluate the transition upon completion, the AAP outlined in a policy statement published online in Pediatrics.

"Pediatricians and adolescent and family medicine providers have a pivotal role in facilitating seamless and effective transition at a very vulnerable and anxious time of life for both HIV-infected youth and their families," wrote Russell B. Van Dyke, MD, FAAP, and Rana Chakraborty, MD, for the AAP's Committee on Pediatric AIDS. "These essential transitional activities can improve health outcomes for HIV-infected adolescents."

Kathleen Struck
Senior Editor
MedPage Today
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© Copyright BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS
St. Paul's Hospital 608–1081 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6Z 1Y6
Tel: 604-806-8477 | Fax: 604-806-9044
General inquiries: info@bccfe.ca
Media inquiries: communications@bccfe.ca
(Please do not use any of these email addresses to send personal information or book an appointment. To book appointments or contact the H2H clinic, please call 604-416-1517 or fax: 604-564-4893. Do not send your or your client's personal information via email.)

Our work serves clients and communities across British Columbia on lands and waters cared for and nurtured by the many distinct First Nations across the province. The BC-CfE humbly and gratefully acknowledge the stewards of these lands, particularly the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaʔ (Tsleil-Waututh) on whose unceded, traditional and ancestral territories our offices are located.