ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: There is a lack of valid health care transition readiness (HCT) scales in Spanish. OBJECTIVE: To provide initial validation of the UNC TRxANSITION Scale™ among Mexican adolescents and young adults (youth) with chronic kidney disease (CKD). METHODS: We used the professionally translated/back translated, provider-administered UNC TRxANSITION Scale™ (Ferris et al., 2012). This 33-question scale measures HCT in ten sub-scales including knowledge about diagnosis or treatment, diet, reproductive health, school/work, insurance, ability to self-manage and looking for new health providers. Its maximum score is 10. We enrolled 163 Mexican adolescents (48.5% females) with CKD stage≥3, mean age of 15.1years (±2.1) and whose primary language is Spanish. There were 15 patients on hemodialysis (9.2%) and 30 transplant recipients (18.4%). Results were compared to those reported in adolescents with chronic conditions from the USA. RESULTS: Our cohort's overall median total score was 5.9. Patients≥16years old had a median total score of 6.4, whereas younger patients had median score of 5.6 (p<0.05). Transplant patients had greater scores in the total and the sub-scales of medication knowledge, issues of reproduction, insurance, trade/work and adherence (p<0.05). When comparing the total score (by age), results from our Mexican youth were similar to those reported in youth from the USA. CONCLUSIONS: In our Mexican cohort of youth with CKD, health care transition readiness is greater in older patients and in transplant recipients. Our cohort's overall score is low, indicating the need for a health care transition preparation program. The UNC TRxANSITION Scale™ results in Mexican youth with CKD are comparable to findings in youth from the USA.
