Patient navigation for individuals with cancer first caught on in the 1990s and quickly gained traction with patients, clinicians and cancer programs alike. However, shifts in healthcare policy and funding over the past decade have put many navigation programs to the test as practitioners struggle to quantify the value of their services in terms of patient outcomes and their employer’s bottom line.
The Academy of Oncology Nurse and Patient Navigators (AONN+), the largest national specialty organization serving oncology nurse and patient navigators, is working to address this challenge through the launch of a national, multi-site study aimed at answering key navigation questions.
Recruitment began in March 2018 and by June eight study sites had been selected, trained and IRB approved for participation. Data collection began on November 1 at Capital Health Cancer Center in Trenton along with seven other locations across the country, and will extend until May of 2019.
Preliminary findings of the study will be presented at AONN+’s Mid-Year Meeting in May 2019. For more information, visit https://www.aonnonline.org/education/standardized-metrics/navigation-metrics-quality-study.
