Nurse navigation for older adults with cancer: A scoping review

Nurse navigation is important in cancer care, with prior studies indicating improvements in quality of life and symptom management. We sought to understand the scope of literature on nurse navigation for older adults with cancer. Specifically, we aimed to understand the characteristics, roles, and services nurse navigators provide for older adults with cancer.

Using the updated Arksey and O'Malley scoping review method, we conducted a scoping review of the literature with searches in PubMed, CINAHL, Embase, and Cochrane. Two reviewers independently screened studies following the inclusion and exclusion criteria. We included studies: (1) published between 2000 and 2024 in English;(2) with participants with cancer aged ≥60 years or mean or median age ≥ 60 years, or a sub-group analysis of those aged ≥60; and (3) navigation provided by a nurse. We excluded grey literature and studies on nurse navigation in cancer screening.

Our search and citation screening yielded 1291 and 748 studies, respectively, of which we screened 1528 titles/abstracts and 257 full-text articles. We identified 29 studies meeting inclusion criteria which describe nurse navigation for older adults with cancer addressing several outcomes including patient experience, satisfaction, and timeliness. About half (14/29) of the included studies addressed older adults specifically.

Nurse navigation shows promise in bridging critical gaps in the care of older adults with cancer. Our findings highlight the need for further evidence about models of care and development of practice-guiding documents to enhance the effectiveness of nurse navigation for older adults with cancer.