TY - JOUR
T1 - Impact of patient navigation on cancer diagnostic resolution among northwest tribal communities
AU - Warren-Mears, Victoria
AU - Dankovchik, Jenine
AU - Patil, Meena
AU - Fu, Rongwei
N1 - Funding Information:
The Northwest Tribal Cancer Navigator Program was funded by the National Cancer Institute’s Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities and the Grant number is U01 CA116925-01.
Funding Information:
Thus, through a grant from the Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities at the National Cancer Institute, a patient navigator program was developed for Northwest Tribal communities, one of nine sites in the Patient Navigation Research Program (PNRP). The PNRP served different populations nationally. The Northwest Tribal Cancer Navigator Program (NTCNP) was the only program among PNRP sites that was implemented in a rural setting and specifically served the AI/AN population, and included all types of cancer. The NTCNP was managed out of the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board (NPAIHB), a non-profit tribal advisory organization serving the 43 federally recognized tribes of Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. The primary aim of the NTCNP was to help reduce barriers to cancer care, and improve clinical outcomes and quality of life for AI/AN cancer patients residing in Northwest region through providing navigator services. The primary aim of this analysis was to estimate the effect of navigator services in reducing the time between suspicious cancer-related finding and definitive diagnosis.
PY - 2013/3
Y1 - 2013/3
N2 - The patient navigator model has not been widely implemented in American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities, but may be effective in improving cancer outcomes for this population. Subjects were enrolled from eight clinics at Tribes throughout the Northwest (n = 1,187). Four clinics received navigation. Time between abnormal finding and definitive diagnosis was recorded. We examined whether odds of obtaining definitive diagnosis by 60, 90, and 365 days differed between the two groups. The odds of definitive diagnosis within 365 days for navigated subjects was 3.6 times (95% CI, 1.47, 8.88; p = 0.01) the odds for control subjects. The outcome at 60 and 90 days did not significantly differ between the two groups. Our findings indicate that patient navigation did not significantly impact chance of diagnosis by 60 or 90 days from abnormal finding. However, it did improve the chance of avoiding extreme delays in obtaining a definitive diagnosis.
AB - The patient navigator model has not been widely implemented in American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities, but may be effective in improving cancer outcomes for this population. Subjects were enrolled from eight clinics at Tribes throughout the Northwest (n = 1,187). Four clinics received navigation. Time between abnormal finding and definitive diagnosis was recorded. We examined whether odds of obtaining definitive diagnosis by 60, 90, and 365 days differed between the two groups. The odds of definitive diagnosis within 365 days for navigated subjects was 3.6 times (95% CI, 1.47, 8.88; p = 0.01) the odds for control subjects. The outcome at 60 and 90 days did not significantly differ between the two groups. Our findings indicate that patient navigation did not significantly impact chance of diagnosis by 60 or 90 days from abnormal finding. However, it did improve the chance of avoiding extreme delays in obtaining a definitive diagnosis.
KW - American Indian/Alaska Native
KW - Cancer
KW - Diagnostic resolution
KW - Northwest Tribes
KW - Patient navigation
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U2 - 10.1007/s13187-012-0436-y
DO - 10.1007/s13187-012-0436-y
M3 - Article
C2 - 23242563
AN - SCOPUS:84875653206
SN - 0885-8195
VL - 28
SP - 109
EP - 118
JO - Journal of Cancer Education
JF - Journal of Cancer Education
IS - 1
ER -