UNDERSTANDING CARE DISCONTINUITY IN YOUNG ADULTS WITH CHRONIC CONDITIONS TO ALLOW FOR CARE PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS

Medical and surgical advances in congenital and pediatric-onset diseases have yielded increased life expectancy and frequently resulted in these conditions evolving towards a chronic state.

Expert care should be provided over the lifetime of afflicted individuals as a means of maximizing their potential and lifelong functioning.

Previous studies have reported that up to 76% of young persons with long-term conditions encounter care gaps, which are associated with increased morbidity and higher healthcare utilization.This project aims to identify risk factors for care gaps above and beyond patient characteristics. In particular, characteristics of care delivery will be scrutinized.

The overall aim of this study is to investigate patient-, hospital and primary care-related predictors for care gaps in young people with chronic conditions, and to investigate the consequences on mortality, morbidity, and social functioning. The study will primarily be based on the Swedish national patient register and include approximately 24 000 patients.

The project is to be launched in January 2024.

The novelty of this study lies in: providing first time evidence on hospital- and primary carerelated factors including inpatient and outpatient care that impact care gaps beyond patient related factors by scrutinizing the consequences of care gaps in terms of mortality, morbidity, social functioning, healthcare consumption and costs.