Determinants of quality of care for adolescents and young adults with chronic illnesses: A mixed methods study

Background: Measuring the quality of service and user experience is an acknowledged priority for healthcare services; however it seems that healthcare systems have to work very hard to achieve this goal as evidenced by reports of gaps and disparities in the quality of care provided to clients, especially within pediatric and adolescent populations.
Objectives: To identify quality determinants for healthcare services for adolescents and young adults with chronic conditions based on the perceptions and the experiences of adolescents and young adults themselves.
Methodology: A sequential exploratory mixed method design guided this study. The initial qualitative phase employed semi-structured in-depth interviews to elicit the elements and determinants of quality of care as identified by adolescents and young adults living with chronic conditions. The second phase employed a questionnaire developed from the data gathered during the qualitative phase to survey the target population. This was distributed to a larger sample of adolescents and young adults with chronic conditions to determine and confirm the relevance of the identified care elements and quality determinants.
Results: The study revealed 4 main determinants: the provision of adolescent friendly information relating to all aspects of living with chronic conditions, services that facilitate and encourage independence, services characterized by structure with the capacity to be both dynamic and responsive, and finally health care professionals knowledgeable and skilled in relation to adolescent specific issues.