| Sumario: | Background: Oncology nurse navigators (ONNs) facilitate breast cancer patients' care via information, resources, and referral services. Objective: To determine the needs and barriers of ONNs serving young breast cancer (yBC) patients and metastatic breast cancer (mBC) patients. Methods: Fifty-two active ONNs completed an online needs assessment survey created and reviewed by a multi stakeholder working group under the CDC-funded Project EXTRA program. Results: Familiarity of ONNs with topics relevant for breast cancer patients, referral patterns, and perception of educational needs varied by career stage. Earlier-career ONNs (≤5 years of work experience) were less familiar with clinical trial participation (45% vs 79%; P=.0315) and genetic counseling and testing (73% vs 96%; P=.0431), and referred patients less often to clinical trials (35% vs 89%; P=.0014 for yBC patients, and 36% vs 89%, P=.0028 for mBC patients). ONNs reported substantial barriers to many services, but not to fatigue, menopause management, and pain management. Most ONNs were interested in continuing education for sexual health and intimacy, but not clinical trials, treatment side effects, or pain management. The majority cited a need for patient materials about sexual health and intimacy and mental health issues. Although most ONNs were confident in their ability to address questions about breast cancer in the media, they indicated additional resources would be useful. Conclusion: Familiarity, referral patterns, educational needs, and barriers faced by earlier-career ONNs differ from later-career ONNs. Site-specific attention to distinct needs of ONNs by job tenure may benefit patient outcomes. Notably, 5 years of work experience appeared to be a meaningful threshold for distinguishing novice and expert ONNs. ONNs expressed significant barriers to referral for clinical trials, most commonly patient understanding of value, suggesting that patient education and materials may reduce this barrier. Improving clinical trial referral (or other site-specific barriers) are actionable steps for ONN programs.
|
|---|