Key result
Structured transition education boosts disease knowledge in adolescents with congenital heart disease across most domains.
Why the study?
Does a structured transition education program improve transition-related knowledge in adolescents with congenital heart disease?
Does a structured transition education program improve transition-related knowledge in adolescents with congenital heart disease?
p-value: p=<0.05
A brief, structured clinic-based transition education program significantly improves short-term disease knowledge, healthcare navigation, and reproductive health awareness among adolescents with congenital heart disease.
May enhance transition knowledge in adolescents with congenital heart disease; hypothesis-generating, warranting randomized trials before practice change.
As survival among individuals with congenital heart disease (CHD) improves, effective transition from pediatric to adult care has become increasingly important. We evaluated the impact of a structured transition education program on transition-related knowledge among adolescents with CHD. This single-center quality improvement study enrolled adolescents aged 12–18 years with CHD between February 2025 and April 2026. A baseline survey was administered to cardiology providers at our institution to characterize their current practices. Adolescent participants completed a 22-item Transition-related knowledge assessment survey adapted from the Self-Management and Transition to Adulthood with Treatment [Rx] Questionnaire (STARx) and TRxANSITION tools before and after a structured physician-led educational intervention. Education focused on five domains: CHD knowledge, medication management, healthcare navigation, reproductive health, and psychosocial misconceptions. Participants also received a personalized cardiac passport. Changes in correct responses were analyzed using McNemar’s test. Fifty-three of 80 eligible adolescents participated (51% male; median age 15 years). Significant improvements in correct responses were observed in 19 of the 22 survey items, with absolute gains ranging from 21 to 76% points (all p < 0.05). The largest improvements occurred in knowledge of cardiac diagnosis and surgical history, medication management, health insurance navigation, and reproductive health. Baseline provider surveys revealed frequent counseling on disease-specific topics but limited discussion of reproductive health, insurance planning, and transition-related issues. A structured transition education intervention was associated with substantial improvements in disease knowledge, self-management skills, healthcare navigation, and reproductive health awareness among adolescents with CHD. These findings support integration of standardized transition education into routine pediatric cardiology practice.
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Banala et al. (2026) studied Congenital heart disease (n=53). Structured transition education program vs. Pre-intervention baseline was evaluated on Change in the proportion of correct responses for each survey item between pre- and post-intervention assessments (p=<0.05). A structured transition education program improved knowledge in adolescents with congenital heart disease, yielding absolute gains of 21 to 76 percentage points on 19 of 22 survey items.
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