Patient Navigation—Who Needs What? Awareness of Patient Navigators and Ranking of Their Tasks in the General Population in Germany

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to investigate the awareness of patient navigation (PN) in the general population in Germany and to assess which navigator tasks are considered most important. The analysis drew on a 2019 nationwide telephone survey of 6110 adults. We compared rankings of emotional support, administrative support and information among respondents with and without experience of patient navigation. One-fifth of the sample reported having heard of PNs; 13% of this group already had experience with PN. In both groups, the majority (>47%) considered assistance with applications to be most important. This was particularly the case among younger adults and those with a chronic disease. Within the inexperienced group, higher educated people had higher odds of ranking provision of information as most important for them, whereas women and those without a partner had higher odds of ranking emotional support as the most important task. This study shows that the majority of people predominantly expect PN services to offer administrative support, irrespective of their socioeconomic and health status. Whether these expectations are met by the diverse existing PN programs, which often have a strong focus on other tasks (e.g., increasing health literacy), has yet to be evaluated.

HLS19-NAV—Validation of a New Instrument Measuring Navigational Health Literacy in Eight European Countries

“…The ability to navigate the health care system (HCS) is increasingly important owing to more complex HCSs with their various sectors and myriad of organizations [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ]. Complexity and fragmentation of HCSs lead to a lack of transparency and increased demands on patients and users to access the right care, at the right time, at the right place [ 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ].…”

Navigationale Gesundheitskompetenz der Bevölkerung in Deutschland

“…Dennoch ist desillusionierend, dass die NGK derart gering ist. Denn in der Vergangenheit wurden in Deutschland etliche Bemühungen unternommen, um Patient:innen besser durch das komplexe Gesundheitssystem zu leiten und den Zugang zu Einrichtungen zu verbessern 2 10 11 . Wie die Untersuchungsergebnisse nahelegen, besteht hier jedoch weiterhin hoher Handlungsbedarf.…”

“…Die Suche nach geeigneten Navigationshilfen hat daher an Bedeutung gewonnen. Sie reichen von Case und Care Management über Disease-Management-Programme bis hin zu Lots:innen, die Patient:innen auf dem Weg durch das Gesundheitssystem begleiten 2 10 11 . Doch wo konkret und bei welchen Bevölkerungsgruppen sollen solche Hilfen ansetzen?…”

Feasibility of a patient-oriented navigation programme for patients with lung cancer or stroke in Germany: Protocol of the CoreNAVI study

“…Person navigators of varying professional background support patients with complex conditions and a variety of chronic diseases or their family caregivers in overcoming barriers in healthcare. However, concepts differ in navigator roles and tasks [ 4 ]. Reviews on PN programmes in cancer care suggest that such programmes reduced time to treatment initiation and adherence in vulnerable patient groups in the US health care system [ 5 , 6 ].…”