Findings from the Native Navigators and The Cancer Continuum (NNACC) Study

Abstract

Native Navigators and the Cancer Continuum (NNACC) was a community based participatory research study among Native American Cancer Research Corporation, CO; Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan, MI; Rapid City Regional Hospital's Walking Forward, SD; Great Plains Tribal Chairman's' Health Board, SD; and Muscogee (Creek) Nation, OK. The project goal was to collaborate, refine, expand and adapt navigator/community education programs to address American Indian communities' and patients' needs across the continuum of cancer care (prevention through end-of-life). The intervention consisted of 4 to 6 site-specific education workshop series at all 5 sites. Each series encompassed 24 hours of community education. The Social Ecology Theory guided intervention development; community members from each site helped refine education materials. Following extensive education, Native Patient Navigators (NPNs) implemented the workshops, referred participants to cancer screenings, helped participants access local programs and resources and assisted those with cancer to access quality cancer care in a timely manner. The intervention was highly successful; 1,964 community participants took part. Participants were primarily American Indians (83%), female (70%) and between 18 and 95 years of age. The education programs increased community knowledge by 28%, facilitated referral to local services, and, through site-specific navigation services, improved access to care for 77 participants diagnosed with cancer during the intervention. Approximately 90% of participants evaluated workshop content as useful and 92.3% said they would recommend the workshop to others. The intervention successfully increased community members' knowledge and raised the visibility of the NPNs in all 5 sites.

The efficacy and cost‐effectiveness of patient navigation programs across the cancer continuum: A systematic review

“…Seventeen articles focused on the efficacy of PN for the receipt of cancer treatment . The majority of these studies focused on breast cancer (n = 14 [82%]), which was followed by colorectal cancer (n = 3 [18%]).…”

“…104,[107][108][109][110][111][112][113][114][115][116][117][118][119][120][121][122] The majority of these studies focused on breast cancer (n = 14 [82%]), which was followed by colorectal cancer (n = 3 [18%]). Thirteen articles reported that PN had a positive impact on cancer treatment, including a shorter time to treatment initiation (n = 9 [53%]), 104,109,110,[112][113][114]117,119,121 higher rates of treatment reception or adherence (n = 6 [35%]), 107,108,112,115,116,118 and increased patient satisfaction with cancer care (n = 1 [6%]). 117 Four Cancer August 15, 2019 studies focused on community-based health care facilities, 109,111,119,120 and 3 studies addressed Latinas and American Indians.…”

What role do Death Doulas play in end‐of‐life care? A systematic review

“…Lay (nonclinical) patient navigators are seen in the US cancer care system to “provide emotional support, information, opportunities for problem‐solving, and logistical assistance to mitigate or overcome obstacles to health” (Rocque et al, , p. 683). There are also Native Patient Navigators, described as working successfully with American Indians to improve health behaviours in the “Native Navigators and the Cancer Continuum study” (Burhansstipanov et al, ). A similar program to that of native navigator is Apoyo con Cariño (support with affection): Patient Navigation to Improve Palliative Care Outcomes for Latinos with Advanced Cancer (Fischer, Min, Kline, & Fink, ) with the authors highlighting its’ potential to improve palliative care outcomes in this population.…”

Health service provider responses to indigenous peoples with cancer: An integrative review

“…The final navigator study (Burhansstipanov et al, ) describes education workshops about cancer and patient navigation led by native patient navigators (NPNs) for American Indian (AI) community members. They were looking at whether AI specific community cancer education intervention would improve health behaviours among AI community members.…”