Implementing Patient Navigation for Children With CKD

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Nephrology
• Health Services Research
• Patient Advocacy

Background:

• Children with chronic kidney disease (CKD) face significant health disparities and reduced quality of life (QoL), often linked to socioeconomic disadvantage and limited access to high-quality care.
• Patient navigation emerges as a potential strategy to enhance care access, patient self-advocacy, self-management, and emotional well-being in this vulnerable population.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore strategies for implementing patient navigation programs within diverse pediatric CKD clinical settings.
• To identify key themes and actionable recommendations for successful adoption, adaptation, and scaling of these programs.

Main Methods:

• A national stakeholder workshop was conducted with 38 participants, including patients, policy-makers, researchers, and healthcare professionals from various Australian states and territories.
• Discussions focused on potential strategies for implementing patient navigation programs in pediatric CKD care.

Main Results:

• Seven key implementation strategies were identified: securing sustainable funding, prioritizing navigator well-being, embedding navigation within existing healthcare systems, fostering robust communication and collaboration, targeting appropriate patient populations, and adapting care models for diverse settings.
• Benefits recognized include improved care coordination and reduced fragmentation.

Conclusions:

• Patient navigation programs hold significant potential for adoption, adaptation, and scaling to improve care coordination and access to quality care for children with CKD.
• Essential strategies for successful implementation include long-term funding, comprehensive navigator support (training, peer support), seamless integration into healthcare systems, and flexible yet principled model adaptation.