An environmental scan and qualitative inquiry of cancer patient navigation services in North Carolina.

Background and objectives: Patient navigation services reduce barriers to accessing cancer care and can improve health outcomes. Thousands of individuals are diagnosed with cancer and seek treatment in North Carolina (NC) each year. We completed a digital environmental scan and qualitative inquiry of cancer patient navigation services throughout the state to better inform patients and health system administrators about the current and future state of cancer patient navigation programs throughout NC.

Methods: An environmental scan of publicly available information on hospital websites about navigation services and key informant interviews with navigation staff at each site were conducted from September 2022 to March 2023.

Results: Seven cancer hospitals representing seven independent health systems participated. Each cancer hospital had a page dedicated to cancer navigation, but many sites were incomplete regarding the specificity of patient services. Interviews revealed that navigation services are available to cancer patients across diagnoses, although only a subset of patients receive services depending on need and available resources. Interview participants reported that services include care coordination, patient advocacy, emotional support, and addressing of non-medical barriers to health care access (transportation, finances, childcare, etc.). Each navigation service had a unique configuration and referral pattern.

Conclusions: NC cancer hospitals are working to address barriers to care common to patients, with some programs offering more robust services compared to others. Health systems would benefit from updating their publicly facing cancer hospital websites at regular intervals to communicate available services to patients and caregivers, including direct patient navigation contact methods.