Experiences of Aboriginal Young People, Families and Carers as They Transition From children's to Adult Health Services in NSW.

AIM: This project aimed to gather the transition experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people and their families to inform and improve service delivery in NSW.

METHODS

The project was co-led by the Agency for Clinical Innovation's Transition Care Network and Aboriginal Health and Wellbeing team with two Aboriginal consumer partners. The project was supported by an Aboriginal Advisory Group. The project received ethics approval from the NSW Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council and used a qualitative, culturally responsive approach incorporating yarning sessions. The team applied the 8 Aboriginal Ways of Learning Framework throughout the project.

RESULTS

The team engaged in yarns with seven Aboriginal young people and their parents. The findings revealed that the majority faced complex transitions, with many continuing to encounter challenges in accessing services. A consistent theme across all yarns was the breakdown in communication. Qualitative analysis indicated that the overall sentiment was predominantly negative. Participants highlighted a general lack of awareness about the transition process, insufficient early planning and preparation, and poor communication.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings point to opportunities for improvements in applying the Agency for Clinical Innovation's Key Principles for Transition Care. They also underscore the importance of embedding these findings into both current and future network initiatives. Importantly, the findings have sparked discussions on the role of shared decision-making as a culturally responsive approach to better support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people and their families throughout the transition process.