A Guide to Implementing Best Practices in Person ... - cancerview.ca

Navigation: A Guide to Implementing Person-Centred Care September 2012Back gr oundNavigation in cancer care can be defined as “a proactive, intentional process of collaboratingwith a person and his or her family to provide guidance as they negotiatethe maze of treatments, services and potential barriers throughout the cancer journey”(Cancer Journey Action Group, 2010). Many provinces in Canada now recognizethat Navigation is a key component of an integrated system of cancer care and an effectiveway to improve the delivery of person-centred care. There is growing interestin Navigation programs among patients, health care providers and policy-makers acrossCanada as a means to improve coordination and continuity of care, and to facilitatetimely access to health care services. Navigation initiatives have been implemented inall provinces and one territory, and services continue to expand.The Supportive Care Framework, which provides a full conceptualization of patientneeds and the help required from health care providers to address the needs of allcancer patients, is foundational to the development of Navigation in Canada (Fitch,1994; Fitch, 2008). The framework reflects a person-centred approach to patient careand has been used to inform program and policy planning (Fitch, 2008; Howell andSussman, 2008).From 2008 to 2012, the Cancer Journey Portfolio 1 (Cancer Journey) of the CanadianPartnership Against Cancer (the Partnership) has led the Strategic Initiative TowardIntegrated Person-Centred Cancer Care. The initiative aims to enhance delivery ofcancer care services by supporting innovative practices in Navigation, Screening forDistress and Survivorship. Cancer Journey has supported various national activities regardingNavigation to enhance development of reliable evidence, best practices andnational collaboration and thus advance the field of Navigation in cancer care. Thisguide is intended to capture the key learnings from these activities in implementation,evaluation, resource development and national collaboration, and to share recent advancesin knowledge and resource production.Conceptualizing NavigationCancer Journey advocates a broad conceptualization of Navigation, with different modalities,all of which improve care delivery and accessibility. Modes of Navigation mayinclude:• Professional Navigation. The navigator is a health care professional with oncologyexpertise and experience.• Peer or Lay Navigation. Peer navigators usually have had a cancer experience asa survivor or caregiver, while lay navigators may not have had direct experience1 The Cancer Journey portfolio of the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer has had several name changes.It began in 2008 as “Rebalance Focus” and then was known as “Cancer Journey” from 2009 to March 2012.In April 2012 it became the “Person-Centred Perspective” portfolio.5