Examining care navigation: librarian participation in a team-based approach?

Area of Science:

• Health Sciences Librarianship
• Patient Navigation
• Health Information Management

Background:

• The evolving landscape of healthcare necessitates interdisciplinary collaboration.
• Patient navigators play a crucial role in coordinating care and supporting patients.
• Health sciences librarians possess expertise in information management and retrieval.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify the core responsibilities, required skills, educational backgrounds, and certifications for health care navigators.
• To explore potential areas of overlap between health care navigators and health sciences librarianship.
• To assess the suitability of health sciences librarians for roles within patient navigation teams.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive content analysis was performed on health care navigator job postings.
• Forty-eight distinct category terms were developed and applied to analyze responsibilities and skill sets.
• The study systematically categorized requirements from a sample of position announcements.

Main Results:

• The most frequently cited responsibility was patient care coordination.
• A bachelor's degree was the most common educational requirement.
• Significant overlap was identified in managing and providing health information resources, indicating librarians' potential role.

Conclusions:

• The identified overlaps suggest a strong basis for collaboration between health care navigators and health sciences librarians.
• Health sciences librarians are well-positioned to contribute to patient navigation teams.
• Exploring these collaborative avenues can enhance patient care and information accessibility.