Appalachian Cancer Patient Navigation Project 2017-2018

The purpose of this project is to improve the standardization of patient navigation trainings (to address cancer and other chronic diseases) for Appalachian health navigators in order to improve coordination of cancer navigation programs across the Appalachia region. The overall goals of this project are to; (1) improve coordination of PN programs within breast, cervical, and colorectal screening sites across Appalachia, and (2) improve standardization of PN training for Appalachian populations. These goals will be achieved through development and implementation of a patient navigation curriculum that is sensitive to the unique culture of Appalachia. The project objectives are as follows: collect information on available infrastructure in the 13 Appalachian states and identify up to 5 states for the study population for this project; in partnership with the Freeman Institute, use formative evaluation to develop a patient navigation training curriculum that is sensitive to the unique culture of Appalachia; pilot test the curriculum and prepare it for training patient navigators; in partnership with state Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Programs (NBCCEDP) and their affiliates, provide patient navigation trainings in the study population and assess efficacy by conducting measurements at baseline, end of training and follow up; and complete a comprehensive summative evaluation of the project. The project’s long-term goal is to build patient navigation infrastructure within Appalachia to facilitate delivery and use of quality clinical cancer services and to facilitate access to quality community resources for those at high risk for and living with cancer.