title: Cancer patient navigator tasks across the cancer care continuum.
abstract: Cancer patient navigation (PN) programs have been shown to increase access to and utilization of cancer care for poor and underserved individuals. Despite mounting evidence of its value, cancer patient navigation is not universally understood or provided. We describe five PN programs and the range of tasks their navigators provide across the cancer care continuum (education and outreach, screening, diagnosis and staging, treatment, survivorship, and end-of-life). Tasks are organized by their potential to make cancer services understandable, available, accessible, affordable, appropriate, and accountable. Although navigators perform similar tasks across the five programs, their specific approaches reflect differences in community culture, context, program setting, and funding. Task lists can inform the development of programs, job descriptions, training, and evaluation. They also may be useful in the move to certify navigators and establish mechanisms for reimbursement for navigation services.
authors.affiliation: Public Health, University of Hawai‘i, Honolulu, HI 96813, USA. kbraun@hawaii.edu
authors.forename: Kathryn L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Braun
authors.forename: Marjorie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kagawa-Singer
authors.forename: Alan E C
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Holden
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Burhansstipanov
authors.forename: Jacqueline H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Tran
authors.forename: Brenda F
authors.initials: BF
authors.lastname: Seals
authors.forename: Giselle
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Corbie-Smith
authors.forename: JoAnn U
authors.initials: JU
authors.lastname: Tsark
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Harjo
authors.forename: Mary Anne
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Foo
authors.forename: Amelie G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Ramirez
mesh_terms: D003266:Continuity of Patient Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D007587:Job Description; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy*; D010344:Patient Advocacy; D011203:Poverty; D015397:Program Evaluation; D014481:United States