Peer-reviewed article
Developing, Nurturing, and Sustaining an Adolescent and Young Adult-Centered Culture of Care
Sarah Lea, Rachel M. Taylor, Faith Gibson ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined how healthcare services in England develop a culture of care specifically tailored to adolescents and young adults. Researchers interviewed healthcare staff and young people, and observed services in four regions providing cancer care. The study found that developing this adolescent-centered culture requires strong leadership, adequate patient volume, time, and dedicated staff commitment.
Key points
- Leadership was essential to develop a cultural attitude that embraced core values of adolescent and young adult-specific care
- High patient volume accessing a service supported the development of a culture of care
- Time and dedicated staff were necessary for an adolescent-centered culture to evolve; it does not develop quickly
- Once established, adolescent and young adult-centered services have a significant impact on young people's experience of care
- Services in the UK are diverse in how they are managed and delivered
Limitations
This study focuses on cancer services in England and may not be generalizable to other health conditions, other regions, or other countries. The study does not evaluate the impact of specific interventions or measure quantitative outcomes for young people's health or well-being.
Abstract
Adolescents and young adults have unique needs which differ from those of children or adults. In the United Kingdom, we have dedicated services, which are diverse in how they are managed and delivered. A multiple-case study was conducted in young people’s cancer services in four geographical regions of England. Data collection included: semi-structured interviews with healthcare professionals ( n = 41) and young people ( n = 29); and observation (total = 120 hours). Thematic analysis was used to synthesize and interpret five emerging themes describing the way a culture of adolescent and young adult-specific care developed. To develop a cultural attitude which embraced and promoted core values, leadership was needed, as well as high patient volume accessing a service. Time was essential, an adolescent and young adult-centered culture of care does not happen overnight, it needs time and dedicated staff to evolve, but once in place, services have a significant impact on the experience of care.