Using navigators to improve care of underserved patients: current practices and approaches

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Health Services Research
• Patient Support

Background:

• Barriers in cancer care disproportionately affect underserved populations.
• Patient navigation is an innovative approach to address these barriers.
• This report defines patient navigation and explores program organization and research needs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To define patient navigation and differentiate it from other cancer support services.
• To describe the organizational structures of patient navigation programs.
• To highlight the need for research into the effectiveness of patient navigation.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of navigation programs.
• Qualitative research including direct observation of clinics.
• Interviews with clinic personnel, patients, and navigators across the US.

Main Results:

• Navigation services are utilized across all cancer care stages: prevention, screening, treatment, and survival.
• Navigators employ flexible problem-solving to overcome patient-specific barriers.
• Rigorous evidence of navigation's effects and effectiveness is currently lacking, though studies are in progress.

Conclusions:

• Patient navigation is an understudied area with limited documented evidence of effectiveness.
• Rigorous research is essential to evaluate the navigator role, costs, and benefits.
• Further studies will assess program effectiveness, feasibility, and comparative performance against alternative barrier-reduction strategies.