Decision-making experiences of young adults with long-term conditions

Background: Young adults with long-term conditions can struggle to accept their diagnosis and can become overwhelmed with managing their condition. Suboptimal transfer from paediatric to adult services with a resultant disengagement with the service can result in less involvement in care and decision-making. Shared decision-making can improve involvement in health decisions and increase satisfaction with treatment/therapy and care.

Objectives: An integrative literature review was conducted to explore and understand young adults' experiences of decision-making in health care.

Design: An integrative literature review.

Data sources: CINAHL, EMCARE, PsycINFO, HMIC, EMBASE, Web of Science, PubMed, MEDLINE, EBSCOHOST and COCHRANE databases were searched for relevant literature published between January 1999 and January 2020.

Findings: Thirteen primary research papers met the inclusion criteria. Four main themes were identified: (1) Information delivery and communication; (2) participation in decision-making; (3) social factors influencing decision-making and (4) emotional impact of decision-making.

Conclusions: Young adults with long-term conditions have specific decision-making needs which can impact their emotional health. Research with a specific focus on young adults' experiences of decision-making in health care is needed.