Are Expectations Too High for Transitioning Adolescents With Inflammatory Bowel Disease? Examining Adult Medication Knowledge and Self-Management Skills.

Objective: Transition readiness assessment has focused attention on adolescent knowledge and skills, but data-driven benchmarks have not been established.

Methods: Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), ages 25 to 50 years, attending an outpatient gastroenterology clinic, were recruited to complete a voluntary, confidential survey asking patients to recall medications and potential side effects, and to rate their degree of independence performing health maintenance tasks.

Results: The 141 respondents (48% response rate) had mean age of 36 years with median disease duration of 11 years.