title: The relationship between integrated care and cancer patient experience: A scoping review of the evidence.
abstract: 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.
  
  
  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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences-DIBINEM, Division of Hygiene and Biostatistics, Alma Mater Studiorum-University of Bologna, via San Giacomo 12, 40126 Bologna, Italy. Electronic address: silvia.foglino2@unibo.it.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Foglino
authors.affiliation: Local Health Trust of Romagna, AUSL Romagna-Ravenna, Via de Gasperi 8, 48121 Ravenna, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bravi
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences-DIBINEM, Division of Hygiene and Biostatistics, Alma Mater Studiorum-University of Bologna, via San Giacomo 12, 40126 Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Carretta
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences-DIBINEM, Division of Hygiene and Biostatistics, Alma Mater Studiorum-University of Bologna, via San Giacomo 12, 40126 Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Pia
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Fantini
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health Policy Management and Evaluation (IHPME), University of Toronto, 155 College Street, Suite 425, Toronto, ON, Canada M5T 3M6.
authors.forename: Mark J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Dobrow
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health Policy Management and Evaluation (IHPME), University of Toronto, 155 College Street, Suite 425, Toronto, ON, Canada M5T 3M6.
authors.forename: Adalsteinn D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Brown
mesh_terms: D019033:Delivery of Health Care, Integrated; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011787:Quality of Health Care
keywords: Cancer care; Integrated care; Patient perspective; Scoping review