FORGE Ahead
Eventually, you will also shift your diabetes care over to an adult practice. Research shows that unless this transition from a pediatric to an adult practice is thoughtful and planned, young adults can stop going for regular diabetes check-ups, and diabetes management can decline, leading to:
- increases in HbA1c levels;
- more frequent hospitalizations;
- psychosocial problems; and
- higher risks for long-term medical complications.
FORGE Ahead outlines key principles which guide a series of educational goals and activities for teens >13 years old regarding the medical, nutritional and psychosocial aspects of diabetes care that aim to prepare an adolescent to gradually assume full responsibility for his/her diabetes care over the course of several years. Once the young adult is armed with a solid foundation of knowledge and behavioral practices to manage diabetes with the pediatric team at the Yale Children’s Diabetes Program, he/she will then be seen in the Yale Bridge Clinic.
We hope that by thinking about it early with you and your parents, we can help minimize the anxiety and uncertainty that can commonly accompany this significant change in your diabetes care. Here are some ideas that we believe can help you FORGE Ahead, and prepare for moving on to the adult-phase of your diabetes care.