Validation of Transition Readiness Assessment Questionaire in Turkish Adolescents with Diabetes

Abstract

Background: Today, more than 90% of adolescents withchronic conditions survive into adulthood and movefrom pediatric care to adult care for the management oftheir chronic illness. It is important to grant autonomyand ensure that adolescents/young adults are ready to usethe adult health care system prior to the transfer of care.However, the lack of a transition readiness assessmenttool that is validated, patient-centered, and appropriateto developmental differences in pediatric care is a majorobstacle for the transition of care from pediatric servicesto adult services.Aims: This study examined the validity and reliabilityof the Turkish version of the Transition ReadinessAssessment Questionnaire, which assesses the readinessfor transition from pediatric to adult health care foradolescents/young adults with diabetes mellitus.Study Design: Methodological study.Methods: Participants were 109 adolescents/youngadults with type 1 diabetes mellitus aged 14-21 years.After permission was obtained to adapt the TransitionReadiness Assessment Questionnaire, the TurkishTransition Readiness Assessment Questionnaire andself-care scale were administered to participants throughface-to-face interviews at two pediatric endocrinologyclinics. Validity was evaluated by exploratory andconfirmatory factor analysis and content-scope validityassessment; reliability was evaluated by item-total scorecorrelation and continuity methods. Internal reliabilitywas assessed by Cronbach’s alpha coefficient andcriterion validity assessment.Results: The item analysis, exploratory factor analysis,and confirmatory factor analysis identified five basicdimensions, with high internal consistency (0.89-0.75).The ratio χ2/df and other conformity indices were a goodfit to the data. The correlation coefficient in the analysesof test-retest scores was 0.86 for the total scale (p