About this study
Getting treatment for childhood cancer can be hard for some families. This study looks at what gets in the way of care around the world and how to better support children and their families.
The study focuses on patient navigation. A patient navigator is someone who helps guide the family during their child’s treatment and helps them get the support they need. They may do things like explain medical information, find ways to pay for care, and make sure the child does not miss appointments. Patient navigation programs are used already for adults but are not often used for children.
Researchers will collect information about patient navigation in pediatric cancer around the world. This information will be used to make a toolkit. This toolkit will help hospitals and organizations start their own patient navigation programs to support children with cancer and their families.
There are 3 parts to this study:
- Part 1: The researchers will gather information to understand patient navigation for children with cancer. They will review studies, existing programs resources, and toolkits for patient navigation. Next, they will do surveys and interview health care providers and members of foundations who provide support and patient education worldwide. This will help them better understand how others view patient navigation.
- Part 2: This information will be used to build a new set of tools and training materials that can be used worldwide and can be adapted to local communities.
- Part 3: The researchers will test these tools in a few different countries. This will be done to see how easy it is to use the tools, and if they can help patients and families of different cultures and different clinical settings during treatment.
The overall goal of this study is to create a helpful guide and a set of tools that can be used around the world to support families and improve care for children with cancer and other diseases.
Eligibility overview
- Clinicians, foundation leaders, patient navigation providers, hospital staff, and patient families
- Adults