Empowering Families of Migrant Children and Youth with Special Healthcare Needs

Co-design and Evaluation of a Patient Navigator Intervention for Migrant Children and Youth with Special Healthcare Needs (CYSHCN) Experiencing Care Transitions (MiNav Trial)

The goal of this randomized controlled trial is to test if a patient navigator program improves healthcare experiences and outcomes for migrant families caring for a child or youth with special healthcare needs (i.e. chronic health condition).

The main questions are, for migrant families with a child or youth with special healthcare needs:

Does a patient navigator reduces barriers to care? Does a patient navigator improve care coordination, caregiver empowerment, caregiver stress and quality of life? What are the healthcare experiences for families with and without the patient navigator intervention?

Participants will:

• Receive the intervention, i.e., the patient navigator program, or continue with standard of care for 12 months
• Fill out questionnaires at 3 time points on barriers to care, caregiver stress, care coordination, and their child's health

Inclusion Criteria:

• Primary caregiver of child/youth ≤18 years who is first- or second-generation migrant, defined as born outside of Canada or having parents born elsewhere, respectively (migrants include immigrants, resettled refugees, refugee claimants (asylum seekers), temporary workers or international students, and other individuals without formal immigration status (undocumented)).
• Children or youth with special health care needs, as defined by the CYSHCN Screener, which identifies children who are experiencing one or more functional limitation or service use due to a physical, emotional, behavioural, developmental, or other health condition that has lasted or is expected to last at least 12 months.
• Experiencing care transitions between at least 2 of the following: primary care, community-based care, secondary specialist care, and/or hospital-based (acute) care.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Caregiver living in Canada ≥10 years
• Families who are receiving available peer navigation support at sites will be excluded to limit cross-over of interventions.