1568-P: A Family Affair: Six-Month Outcomes of a Family-Based Intervention Focused on Transition from Pediatric to Adult Diabetes Care

Introduction and Objective: Behavioral Family Systems Therapy for Diabetes Transition (BFST-DT) is the first intervention aimed at improving transition readiness in adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1D). Our pilot study found that BFST-DT was acceptable and feasible, and resulted in significant improvements in transition readiness outcomes from pre- to post-intervention. The objective of the current study is to evaluate whether pre- to post-intervention improvements remained 6 months post-intervention. Methods: Twenty-six adolescents with T1D and their parents participated in BFST-DT and completed measures of transition readiness (READDY: Readiness for Emerging Adults with Diabetes Diagnosed in Youth; TRAQ: Transition Readiness Assessment Questionnaire) at baseline, post-intervention, and 6-months later. The mean age of participants was 16.38(.75) years. Paired samples t-tests and related-samples Wilcoxon signed rank tests were performed. Results: All the subscales of the READDY and TRAQ that improved from pre- to post-intervention remained significant at the 6-month follow-up with the exception of the TRAQ Motivation and Confidence subscales. Means of the Motivation and Confidence subscales at 6-months post-intervention remained higher than at pre-intervention, but not significantly. Conclusion: Findings indicate that BFST-DT improved transition readiness from pre- to post-intervention, and most of those positive improvements were sustained 6 months post-intervention. The exception is that initial improvements to adolescent-reported motivation and confidence were not sustained 6 months later. Semi-structured interviews are planned for the next data collection period of this longitudinal study to help determine if ongoing intervention efforts (e.g., booster sessions) would support adolescents following their participation in BFST-DT. Disclosure J. Ellis: None. M.C. Suhs: None. A. O'Donnell: None. J. Weissberg-Benchell: Consultant; Ended; Sanofi. M.A. Harris: None. J.L. Papadakis: None. Funding Breakthrough T1D (4-SRA-2023-1287-M-B)