A Navigation Program to Improve Survivorship Support Service Participation Among Non-metastatic Breast Cancer Survivors

Summary

This clinical trial studies whether a navigation program improves survivorship support service participation among survivors of breast cancer that has not spread from where it first started (primary site) to other places in the body (non-metastatic). Advances in treatment have caused the number of breast cancer survivors to grow. As this number increases, there are reported unmet supportive care needs in this population, including psychological distress and limitations in physical functioning. To address these needs, many cancer centers offer programming on a variety of topics including psychological services, exercise counseling, and nutrition counseling. Research has shown that while interest in these survivorship programs is high, participation remains low, especially among minority women. Navigation is a healthcare service that is designed to guide a patient through the healthcare system and reduce barriers to timely screening, follow-up, diagnosis, treatment, and supportive care. The navigation program in this trial is specifically focused on helping breast cancer survivors schedule and attend survivorship consultation appointments as well as providing additional support to underserved/vulnerable patients. A navigation program may be effective in improving survivorship support service participation among non-metastatic breast cancer survivors.

Detailed Description

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: I. Increase the rate of referrals to survivorship support services among eligible breast cancer survivors by 50% within 12 months following implementation of a structured navigation program. (Aim 1) II. Reduce the rate of non-scheduled survivorship visits (defined as no appointment made within 30 days of referral) by 50% and increase the re-scheduling success rate among patients who initially cancel. (Aim 2) SECONDARY OBJECTIVE: I. Among patients identified as at-risk (minority race/ethnicity, rural residence, age ≥ 70), assess the uptake of coaching, and evaluate changes in self-efficacy scores before and after a 90-day navigation-based coaching intervention. (Aim 3) OUTLINE: Patients receive a referral to survivorship at James Cancer Supportive Care Clinic and attend a survivorship consultation visit consisting of standard survivorship care and referrals at baseline. Patients who do not schedule or cancel the survivorship consultation visit receive patient navigator support to help with scheduling. Following survivorship consult, underserved/vulnerable patients may attend five patient navigator coaching sessions over 90 days.

Eligibility Criteria

Interventions