Validation of the OPportunity for Treatment In ONcology (OPTION) questionnaire measuring continuity of care.

Increasing efforts are ongoing to deliver effective cancer care through integrated networks of services. Measuring patients' experience of care is essential to identify problematic areas that require organisational adjustments. The aim of the present study was to examine the validity of OPTION questionnaire, designed to measure patient's perceived continuity of care across different phases of their care pathway. The study was carried at the Institute for Cancer Treatment and Research, Meldola and the oncology departments of the Local Health Authority of Romagna, Italy. Principal component analysis (PCA) was performed to identify factors underlying patients' perception of continuity of care. Factor scores were compared between patients with or without a care coordinator using Mann-Whitney test. The study sample consisted of 214 patients with breast or colorectal cancer, with a mean age of 62.3 years. Most patients identified the oncologist as their care coordinator. Five factors were extracted using PCA: (1) "trustful relationship with health care staff," (2) "information on care pathway," (3) "information on changes related to the illness," (4) "feelings of abandonment" and (5) "collaboration among health care professionals." The scores of factors 2 and 3 were significantly higher among those with a care coordinator. The OPTION questionnaire is a reliable instrument that can help clinicians and administrative stakeholder target efforts and resources in the pursuit of quality of care.

The relationship between integrated care and cancer patient experience: A scoping review of the evidence.

BACKGROUND: Health policy documents underscore the need to develop organizational models to optimize the integration of cancer care pathways around patient needs. Still, there is a lack of clarity about the meaning of integrated care as perceived by patients. The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between the integration of cancer services and patients' experience. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We completed a scoping review of the available literature searching PubMed, Embase and Scopus from the earliest date available in each database to February 2013. RESULTS: From 1760 bibliographic records, we identified 30 articles relevant for this analysis. Based on the qualitative conventional content analysis, we defined three integrated care approaches: "individual care provider", "team care providers", "mixed approach", that impact on the following patient experience dimensions: patient satisfaction, quality of life, psychological and physical outcomes, continuity of care and empowerment. CONCLUSIONS: This scoping review identifies important aspects of integration from patients' perspective and suggests that policy makers should consider how to best include patients' experience into the patient care pathway. Future perspectives include engaging patients, family members, caregivers and clinicians in an on-going dialogue and have them participate actively in developing, implementing and evaluating policies, services and programmes.

[Patient engagement in health care. New perspectives in oncology]. / La partecipazione della persona al percorso di cura.Nuove prospettive in oncologia.

During the last decade, an increasing number of studies has been focused on patient engagement programs through which patients can be effective and informed managers of their health and health care. Based on our recent review, studies examining the nature of patient participation in service planning have found that most activities are limited to various forms of consultation, rather than the interactive partnerships advocated for treatment decision-making. Despite this clear evidence, many people want to play an active role in their own healthcare. They want to know how to protect and improve their health when they are well; and when they are ill, they want information about treatment options and likely outcomes. Consistent with these considerations, this paper intends to underline the importance to engage patients, to describe some different interventions to make patient effective informed; and, finally, to show some pilot projects from around the world, with a special focus on cancer care service of Ontario.