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Do Better-Rated Navigators Improve Patient Satisfaction with Cancer-Related Care?

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Abstract

Patient navigation has emerged as a promising strategy for addressing racial-ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in cancer-related care. However, little is known about the impact of patients’ perception of the quality of navigation on patient outcomes. We examined the impact of better-rated navigators on patients’ satisfaction with cancer-related care. The sample included 1,593 adults (85.8 % with abnormal cancer screening and 14.2 % with confirmed cancer diagnosis) who received patient navigation. We defined better-rated navigators as those scoring above the first quartile of mean scores on the Patient Satisfaction with Interpersonal Relationship with Navigator scale. We defined patient satisfaction based on scores above or below the median of the Patient Satisfaction with Cancer-Related Care (PSCC) scale. We controlled for patient and site characteristics using backward selection logistic regression analyses. Among patients with abnormal screening, having a better-rated navigator was associated with higher score on the PSCC (p < 0.05). After controlling for other bivariate predictors of satisfaction (e.g., age, race, income, and household size), navigation by better-rated navigators was associated with a greater likelihood of having higher patient satisfaction [odds ratio (OR), 1.38; 95 % confidence interval (CI), 1.05–1.82]. Similar findings between better-rated navigators and score on the PSCC were found for participants with diagnosed cancer (OR, 3.06; 95 % CI, 1.56–6.0). Patients navigated by better-rated navigators reported higher satisfaction with their cancer-related care.

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Acknowledgments

Dr. Pascal Jean-Pierre wishes to acknowledge the support of the Walther Cancer Foundation. This study was supported by grants from the National Cancer Institute Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities (3U01CA116924-03S1, U01 CA116924 01, 1R25CA10261801A1, U01CA116892, U01CA117281, U01CA116903, U01CA116937, U01CA116885, U01CA116875, and U01CA116925) and the American Cancer Society (SIRSG-05-253-01).

Conflict of Interest

The authors have no financial disclosures to make. No conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Harper Cancer Research Institute, Notre Dame, IN, USA

    Pascal Jean-Pierre

  2. Department of Family Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, USA

    Paul C. Winters & Kevin Fiscella

  3. Center for Health Quality, Outcomes, and Economic Research—VA HSR&D, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA

    Jack A. Clark

  4. Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board, Tribal Epidemiology Center, Portland, OR, USA

    Victoria Warren-Mears

  5. Center for Evidence-based Medicine and Health Outcomes Research, University of South Florida College of Medicine, Tampa, FL, USA

    Kristen J. Wells

  6. Department of Family Medicine, Ohio State Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH, USA

    Douglas M. Post

  7. George Washington University (GWU) Cancer Institute, GWU Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA

    Nancy LaVerda

  8. Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities, National Cancer Institute, Rockville, MD, USA

    Mary Ann Van Duyn

  9. Department of Psychology, University of Notre Dame, 109 Haggar Hall, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, USA

    Pascal Jean-Pierre

Authors
  1. Pascal Jean-Pierre
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  2. Paul C. Winters
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  3. Jack A. Clark
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  4. Victoria Warren-Mears
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  5. Kristen J. Wells
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  6. Douglas M. Post
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  7. Nancy LaVerda
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  8. Mary Ann Van Duyn
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  9. Kevin Fiscella
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Patient Navigation Research Program Group

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Pascal Jean-Pierre.

Additional information

The Patient Navigation Research Program Group consists of Steven R. Patierno, PhD, Duke Cancer Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC; Richard G. Roetzheim, MD, MSPH, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, FL; Peter C. Raich, MD, FACP, Denver Health and Hospital Authority, Denver, CO; Electra Paskett, PhD, MPH, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH; Karen Freund, MD, MPH, Institute for Clinical Research and Health Policy Studies, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA; Donald J. Dudley, MD, and Jennifer Quinlan, MPH; University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, TX; Steve Rosen, MD, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL.

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Jean-Pierre, P., Winters, P.C., Clark, J.A. et al. Do Better-Rated Navigators Improve Patient Satisfaction with Cancer-Related Care?. J Canc Educ 28, 527–534 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-013-0498-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-013-0498-5

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