Adulthood transitions in health and welfare; a literature review.
Berit Munck, Anita Björklund, Inger Jansson and 2 others
PMID 30062017WHAT IT FOUND
A review of adulthood transitions identified a new category: lifestyle transitions.
These cover changes in physical activity, eating, substance use, and risk-taking. Unlike health-illness transitions, people may not be aware of these shifts, which can move toward healthier or unhealthier behaviours.
Key findings
01The review identified a fifth type of adulthood transition, termed 'lifestyle transition', characterized by behavioural changes regarding physical activity, eating habits, tobacco use, drug use, and risk tendency.
02Lifestyle transitions can move in either a positive direction (unhealthy to healthier) or a negative direction (healthy to unhealthy, or unhealthy to more destructive), and may occur without the individual's conscious awareness.
03Health-illness transitions, such as moving between care settings or changing health status, were distinct and less difficult to categorize than situational or developmental transitions.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The search was restricted to articles published between 2011 and August 2013, so it does not reflect more recent developments in the concept of transition. The authors did not assess the quality or risk of bias of the 283 included articles, meaning the findings are based on a mix of potentially weak and strong studies. The categorization of transitions relied on the authors' interpretation, and they noted difficulty distinguishing between developmental and situational transitions. The search excluded several terms related to nursing practice (e.g., 'New Graduate Nurses', 'Preceptorship'), which may have limited the scope of professional transitions identified.
Declared interests
No specific funding sources or conflicts of interest are declared in the provided text. The authors state that patient consent and ethical approval were not required for this literature review.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret this as evidence that a specific nursing intervention improves lifestyle outcomes. This is a theoretical review that maps how the concept of 'transition' is used in literature; it does not test the effectiveness of care strategies.