Determinants of Quality of Care for Adolescents and Young Adults With Chronic Illnesses: A Mixed Methods Study Nabeel Al-Yateem PhD a, ⁎ , Charles Docherty PhD a , Rachel Rossiter RN. M.Nursing (NP), HScD b a Department of Nursing, College of Health Sciences, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates b Visiting academic, University of Sharjah, UAE, Faculty of Science, Charles Sturt University, Australia Received 8 October 2015; revised 12 December 2015; accepted 12 December 2015 Key words: Adolescent health care; Adolescence; Determinants of quality; Mixed methods research; Qualitative research; Quantitative research; Questionnaire; Statistical survey Background Measuring the quality of service and user experience is an acknowledged priority for healthcare services; however it seems that healthcare systems have to work very hard to achieve this goal as evidenced by reports of gaps and disparities in the quality of care provided to clients, especially within pediatric and adolescent populations. Objectives: To identify quality determinants for healthcare services for adolescents and young adults with chronic conditions based on the perceptions and the experiences of adolescents and young adults themselves. Methodology: A sequential exploratory mixed method design guided this study. The initial qualitative phase employed semi-structured in-depth interviews to elicit the elements and determinants of quality of care as identified by adolescents and young adults living with chronic conditions. The second phase employed a questionnaire developed from the data gathered during the qualitative phase to survey the target population. This was distributed to a larger sample of adolescents and young adults with chronic conditions to determine and confirm the relevance of the identified care elements and quality determinants. Results: The study revealed 4 main determinants: the provision of adolescent friendly information relating to all aspects of living with chronic conditions, services that facilitate and encourage independence, services characterized by structure with the capacity to be both dynamic and responsive, and finally health care professionals knowledgeable and skilled in relation to adolescent specific issues. © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Background Measuring the quality of service and user experience is a priority for all industries worldwide. Healthcare services deliver care designed to promote the health and well-being of individuals, many of whom are weak and vulnerable and some who are critically ill and in need of effective and immediate assistance in order to survive. Ensuring quality healthcare services has been mandated globally for many years (Macias, 2013; Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, 2015; Smith, Saunders, Stuckhardt, & McGinnis, 2013). It seems that healthcare systems struggle to achieve this goal. An extensive literature describes gaps and disparities in the quality of care provided to clients, including the care offered to vulnerable pediatric and adolescent populations (Annunziato et al., 2013; Bamford et al., 2001; Beacham & Deatrick, 2015; Berdahl et al., 2010; Betz, ⁎ Corresponding author: Nabeel Al-Yateem, PhD. E-mail address: Nalyateem@sharjah.ac.ae. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pedn.2015.12.003 0882-5963/© 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Journal of Pediatric Nursing (2016) 31, 255–266