Abstract
The process of transitioning young people from children’s or adolescents’ health services into adults’ services is a crucial time in the lives and health of young people, and has been reported to be disjointed rather than a process of preparation in which they are involved. Such transitions not only fail to meet the needs of young people and families at this time of significant change, but they may also result in a deterioration in health, or disengagement with services, which can have deleterious long-term consequences. Despite the wealth of literature on this topic, there has yet to be a focus on what works for whom, in what circumstances, how and why it works, in relation to all young people transitioning from children’s into adults’ services, which this realist synthesis aims to address.