Assessing perceptions of transition readiness in the adolescent and young adult oncology population.

73 Background: Childhood cancer patients have distinct health-related needs as they transition from patient to survivor and from pediatric to adult-based care. This study used the Transition Readiness Assessment Questionnaire (TRAQ) to assess transition readiness and compare variation in readiness perceptions between patients, parents, and physicians. Methods: The TRAQ was completed by patients between ages 12 to 26 and their parent and oncologist at Geisinger Medical Center from Sept. 2015 to Dec. 2016. Surveys were scored according to validated methods (min. 1, max. 5). Statistical analysis was completed using SAS 9.4. Results: The study enrolled 49 patients, including 6 patients (12.2%) and 43 survivors (87.8%). There were 29 males (59.2%). The patient’s mean age at the time of survey was 18.4 years. Cancer types included: acute lymphoblastic leukemia (n = 17), lymphoma (n = 12), and sarcoma (n = 7). There were no significant differences in overall TRAQ scores between parents, patients, and physicians (mean 3.2, 3.5, and 3.7, respectively). The highest interobserver agreement was seen between patients and parents; the lowest was seen between physicians and patients. The greatest competency was assessed in the activity of talking with providers, and the lowest was measured in appointment keeping. In the domain of tracking health issues, providers assigned higher scores than patients (p = 0.003) and parents (p = 0.001). In the skill of talking with providers, patients ranked themselves higher than providers (p = 0.003). There was no significant variation in scores based on disease type, length of therapy, or insurance type. Patient age at diagnosis, patient age at therapy completion, and patient age at survey were correlated with higher patient (p = 0.004, p = 0.002, p = 0.0001, respectively), parent (p = 0.017, p = 0.019, p = 0.0001, respectively), and physician (p = 0.027, p = 0.03, p = 0.0001, respectively) scores. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that the overall assessment of transition readiness in the adolescent and young adult oncology population was similar between patients, parents, and physicians. The TRAQ is a tool that can be effectively used to guide healthcare transition in this population.