Experiences and Factors Influencing the Transition to Adult Care in Adolescents With Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Mixed-Methods Systematic Review.

AIM: To synthesise the literature on factors influencing transition to adult care in adolescents with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD).

BACKGROUND

Adolescents with IBD often experience care fragmentation and disease exacerbation during the transition to adult care. However, there is a scarcity of systematic reviews that synthesise the multidimensional factors influencing transition in adolescents with IBD.

DESIGN

This was a mixed-methods systematic review using the convergent integrated analysis framework.

METHODS

A mixed-methods systematic review was conducted on August 11, 2026. A computerised search was conducted in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, CINAHL, ProQuest, Scopus, Cochrane Library, VIP Database, Wanfang Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and the Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), and the reference lists of the included studies were also screened. The quality of the included studies was assessed using the MMAT. Data were extracted from the selected articles and synthesised using a convergent-integrated approach.

RESULTS

A total of 41 articles that met the screening criteria were rigorously reviewed and included in this systematic review. Guided by the SMART model, this synthesis of 41 studies identified two themes and 10 sub-themes influencing transitional care among adolescents with IBD: pre-existing objective factors (socio-demographics/culture, access/insurance, health status/risk), and modifiable subjective variables (developmental maturity, knowledge, skills/efficacy, beliefs/expectations, goals, relationships, psychosocial functioning).

CONCLUSION

Guided by the SMART model, this systematic review synthesised factors influencing transition-care outcomes among adolescents with IBD from the perspectives of patients, caregivers and healthcare providers, offering guidance for the subsequent development of more individualised transition programmes.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Mapping evidence to the SMART transition model enables identification of at-risk adolescents for early, intensive family-involved transition, with modifiable subjective variables serving as intervention targets for individualised care.

REPORTING METHOD: This review followed the PRISMA 2020 guidelines.

PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: No.