Key result
CHD transitional care literature centers on patient education, developmental timing, and program coordination.
Why the study?
Transitional care for adolescents and young adults with CHD remains inconsistently implemented, and a summary of published literature was missing.
What are the key topics regarding transitional care for adolescents and young adults with CHD and the emerging trends between topics and characteristics of the available literature?
What are the key topics regarding transitional care for adolescents and young adults with CHD and the emerging trends between topics and characteristics of the available literature?
The literature on transitional care for individuals with CHD is primarily focused on education, timing, and program implementation, highlighting the need for more standardized, evidence-based approaches.
Calls for standardized transitional care programs in CHD; extends the literature by mapping three core themes to prioritize future trials.
Background Adolescents and young adults with congenital heart disease (CHD) face significant challenges when transitioning from pediatric to adult care. Despite growing recognition of its importance, transitional care remains inconsistently implemented across healthcare systems, and a summary of published literature in this regard is still missing. This scoping review aims to systematically map the literature on CHD transitional care and identify key topics and trends. Methods Following Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines, we conducted a comprehensive search across seven electronic databases using the Population, Concept, and Context framework. A total of 73 studies were included. Data were extracted and analyzed using Latent Dirichlet Allocation to identify core topics, and Multiple Correspondence Analysis was applied to explore thematic relationships and validate topic structure. Lexicometric analysis assessed the linguistic complexity and specificity of the literature. Results Three major themes emerged: (1) Education, Self-Management, and Structured Support, (2) Timing, Knowledge Transfer, and Developmental Needs, and (3) Transition Program Implementation and Coordination. These themes reflect an increasing focus on structured educational strategies, developmentally tailored care, and system-level program delivery. Education-focused interventions were more frequently found in recent, high-quality experimental studies. In contrast, studies addressing timing and developmental needs and those focused on implementation were more common in earlier-phase or heterogeneous research contexts. Conclusion Transitional care for individuals with CHD requires more standardized, evidence-based approaches. Improved documentation when reporting transitional care is essential to enhance fidelity, scalability, and long-term impact. This review provides a foundation for developing outcome-focused research and supports designing individualized, high-quality transition programs.
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Angileri et al. (2026) conducted a review in Congenital heart disease (n=73). Transitional care was evaluated on Key topics and trends in transitional care literature. Transitional care literature for congenital heart disease centers on three major themes: education and self-management, timing and developmental needs, and program implementation and coordination.
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