Adolescent Medicine

The Division of Adolescent Medicine at The Hospital for Sick Children is an interprofessional group committed to promoting and providing excellence in adolescent health care, and collaborating with local, national and international communities in the areas of patient care, training, education and research.

Some of the exciting events of the year included: a Strategic Planning process; our work with CAPHC on transition guidelines; and the explosive growth of the Transgender Youth Clinic. The Young Families’ Program continues to offer interprofessional education and experience to trainees from a variety of disciplines including medicine, nursing, social work and psychiatry with a particular focus on social paediatrics to its clinical, research and educational programs. Research and Quality Improvement projects include work in the areas of maternal and child outcomes, infant mental health, developmental screening and evidence-based health services for adolescent parents.

The program continues its progress towards the development of evidence based adolescent parenting interventions, with a particular emphasis on maternal and infant mental health. Outreach to Community networks and affiliations remain an active focus. The Substance Abuse Program provides a continuum of care from outpatient to day treatment, incorporating best practices in clinical care, while providing learning for a variety of health professional trainees. The program also provides outreach to schools, group homes and youth-serving agencies across the GTA. The program has introduced enhanced services for parents and is also one of the lead agencies involved in a pilot project aimed at enhancing program evaluation of youth addiction programs in Ontario. The program is also launching a new education resource for teens about the health risks of cannabis use entitled ‘Just Weed’.

The Good 2 Go Transition Program (Good 2 Go) continues to support SickKids staff and members of the paediatric and adult healthcare community in serving the needs of youth in healthcare transitions. Highlights from the past year include supporting novel initiatives via a transition navigator in the sickle cell program, transfer clinics in aftercare oncology and transition education events in neurosurgery outreach program. We continue to serve as consultants/experts at the local hospital community level and nationally, with our work with the Epilepsy Transition Working group and efforts to develop clinical practice guidelines for transitions with the Canadian Association of Paediatric Health Centres, respectively. We published research in the area of youth-focused interventions for transition to adult healthcare and continue our research in palliative care, inflammatory bowel disease, and transition-specific initiatives (i.e., Transfer Clinics).

The Eating Disorders Program provides integrated clinical services (Inpatient, Day Hospital, Outpatient and Consultation) to adolescents and their families. All aspects of the program are interdisciplinary and family-based, as fits with best evidence based practice.

Our newest program, the Children’s Outpatient Program for Eating Disorders (COPE), provides care specifically designed for those under 12 years old who struggle with eating issues and co-morbid illnesses. Educating current and new providers on best practices in eating disorders care remains a core mission of the program.

Current research is in the areas of transition to adult care, bone health, and the treatment of young children with eating disorders. We continue to participate in the Ontario Community Outreach Program for Eating Disorders which strengthens and promotes access to care for people with eating disorders throughout the province. SickKids Interprofessional Team for Youth continues to provide adolescent health care for young people with chronic illness or disability through regular attendance in subspecialty clinics (solid organ transplant, rheumatology, haematology, STOMP, sleep and spina bifida) and through our weekly SITY clinics.

The Transgender Youth Clinic (TYC), operated jointly by Adolescent Medicine and Endocrinology, has seen over 200 patients in the past year and receives 20-30 referrals per month. TYC team members are actively involved in education and outreach to increase capacity in the community and continue to partner with community agencies to optimize the care of gender independent youth and their families. SITY is an important educational resource, providing continuity clinics for fellows and subspecialty residents and teaching about a broad range of adolescent issues. SITY continues to optimize the involvement of practitioners and trainees in a number of disciplines to role-model and deliver care in an integrated and interprofessional manner.