Nirmala Bhoo Pathy: Proud to share the Patient Navigation Technical Brief

Nirmala Bhoo Pathy posted on LinkedIn:

“I’m proud to share the Patient Navigation Technical Brief, a collaborative effort by dedicated professionals from around the world, led by Dr. Mary Nyangasi-Onyango, Rizu Neha Goel Andre Ilbawi, under the WHO Global Breast Cancer Initiative.

How can healthcare teams, NGOs, and community organizations benefit from this?
The WHO brief offers practical guidance on implementing patient navigation across the care continuum: early detection, timely diagnosis, and comprehensive management and support, showcasing a model that can truly transform (breast) cancer care.

What does this mean for health systems, governments, and policy makers worldwide?
Patient navigation isn’t just a service, it’s a statement. It shows that a health system is serious about delivering patient-centered care, guiding patients through the maze of healthcare, addressing practical, emotional, social and financial challenges, and prioritizing their overall well-being. When offered as part of cancer care, patient navigation reflects a sincere commitment to seeing and treating patients as whole individuals, not just as diseased organs!

For those interested in deeper insights on patient-centered care, our recent commentary put together with Carolyn Taylor Karla Unger-Saldaña touches on its operationalization in LMICs.

And on a more personal note, a special shoutout to Cancer Research Malaysia and National Cancer Society Malaysia, keep up the fantastic work with Ministry of Health Malaysia!”

Nirmala Bhoo-Pathy is a Professor of Epidemiology in the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University Malaya, and practices as a public health physician at the University Malaya Medical Centre, Malaysia. She is also a visiting scholar at Queen’s University Belfast, United Kingdom since 2014. Dr Bhoo Pathy’s career is focused on optimizing life after cancer in resource-limited settings through research and advocacy.

 Dr Bhoo Pathy was the principal investigator of phase III of the ASEAN CosTs In ONcology (ACTION) study, comprising close to 10,000 cancer patients from eight low-and middle-income member countries of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). She currently serves in two Lancet Commissions: the Lancet Commission on Women and Cancer and the Lancet Commission on Cancer and Health Systems. As the founder and scientific lead of a solution-oriented research group ‘Well with Cancer in Malaysia (WeCan@MY) https://spm.um.edu.my/wecan@my/ in the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Nirmala Bhoo-Pathy currently oversees a wide range of studies on cancer care, cancer control and cancer policy, locally and globally.