BACKGROUND: Patient navigators are trained to provide support and guidance to patients throughout the cancer care continuum. They help "navigate" through the maze of doctors' clinics, outpatient centers, insurance and payment systems, patient-support organizations, and other components of the health care system. Yet there is no existing patient satisfaction tool to assess the patient navigation program in the Philippines for pediatric cancer. OBJECTIVES: This study aims to evaluate satisfaction with the patient navigation program using a validated Satisfaction with Interpersonal Relationship with Navigator (SN-I-Ph) Measure among Filipino caregivers in a tertiary referral center for childhood cancer. METHODOLOGY: The tool was first translated for cultural appropriateness, translated, and back translated into Filipino; the content validity and internal consistency were tested. Caregivers of Filipino children with cancer were recruited to answer the survey and the results analyzed. OUTCOME: Content validity for all 9 items was acceptable with scores of 4.5-5 and internal consistency showed satisfactory results with cronbach alpha of 0.9067. A total of 202 participants were recruited to join the survey. Results showed mean±SD of 42.6±7.8. All the 9 items showed excellent satisfaction. CONCLUSION: This study showed good satisfaction with the interpersonal relationship of the navigators among caregivers. Participants enrolled in the patient navigation program reported a positive overall experience with the medical care. RECOMMENDATIONS The tool is recommended for use among hospitals with the patient navigation program to assess satisfaction of the caregivers. Further studies can assess caregiver’s satisfaction as to logistic aspects as well as how to measure benefits and outcomes with the program.
Patient Navigation