Transition to Self-Management among Adolescents with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: Parent and Adolescent Perspectives.
Cara C Young, Lynn Rew, Maria Monge
PMID 31079016WHAT IT FOUND
Adolescents with PCOS described taking control through symptom management, peer expectations, support, and balance; parents worried about shifting from directing care to facilitating it.
Nurses can use these themes to plan family self-management transition talks.
Key findings
01Parents’ main theme was concerns about the transition to self-care, especially moving from directing their daughter’s care to facilitating it.
02Adolescents’ main theme was taking control, with subthemes of managing symptoms, cognitive dissonance, support, and balance.
03Parents described changing family eating and activity routines as part of managing PCOS.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The sample was small, with 7 adolescents and 8 parents from one clinic, so the themes may not represent all families. The adolescent discussions were dominated by older adolescents, so younger adolescents closer to diagnosis were less strongly heard. Two parents spoke Spanish as their primary language, and a native-language group might have produced a more nuanced discussion. The study did not test an intervention or measure health outcomes, so it describes experiences rather than proving what helps. Parents’ ages were not collected, and the second focus group also served as feedback for a planned intervention, which may have shaped discussion.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that nurse-led transition planning improves PCOS outcomes. It is a small qualitative study of 7 adolescents and 8 parents, and the authors did not test an intervention or measure health outcomes.