STRONGER TOGETHER A COLLABORATIVE MODEL FOR ONCOLOGY NURSE NAVIGATION AND ONCOLOGY SOCIAL WORK.
Significance & Background: At our comprehensive cancer center we had a model where Lymphoma patient's barriers were addressed only by a dedicated oncology nurse navigator (ONN). The ONN only had access to one oncology social worker (OSW) for the entire outpatient cancer center. This model has the ro...
| Published in: | Oncology Nursing Forum Vol. 53; no. 2; pp. 253 - 255 |
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| Main Authors: | , |
| Format: | Journal Article |
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Oncology Nursing Society
Mar2026
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| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=194211547&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ccm uiTerm: 194211547 longDbName: CINAHL Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: dissinfo: jinfo: jid: 0190535X 4F0 jtl: Oncology Nursing Forum issn: 0190535X maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Mar2026 vid: 53 iid: 2 pid: 12496 pub: Oncology Nursing Society place: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania artinfo: ui: 194211547 10.1188/26.ONF.e26535271 194211547 ppf: 253 ppct: 2 formats: fmt: @attributes: type: P tig: atl: STRONGER TOGETHER A COLLABORATIVE MODEL FOR ONCOLOGY NURSE NAVIGATION AND ONCOLOGY SOCIAL WORK. aug: au: Poerio, Sunshine Hyson, Jill affil: MSN, RN, Atrium Health Wake Forest, Winston-Salem, NC sug: ab: Significance & Background: At our comprehensive cancer center we had a model where Lymphoma patient's barriers were addressed only by a dedicated oncology nurse navigator (ONN). The ONN only had access to one oncology social worker (OSW) for the entire outpatient cancer center. This model has the role of the ONN weighted heavily towards addressing social determinants of health rather than allowing the ONN to practice at full scope of clinical expertise. Purpose: To establish a collaborative relationship between ONN and OSW to enhance the delivery of support services to patients. Interventions: The lymphoma ONN collaborated with the OSW program manager to interview candidates to expand the oncology social work team. Once the OSW was hired and on boarded, they were assigned to the lymphoma disease group. The OSW and lymphoma ONN partnered to create a pilot program for disease-based supportive care. The pilot included the ONN performing an initial patient assessment and identified social barriers to care. The OSW would perform a social barriers assessment and provide needed internal or external re-sources/interventions based on this assessment. The OSW would then communicate needed resources/ interventions with ONN. The ONN and OSW would continue to address barriers throughout a patient's plan of care. Results: Evidence from emerging pilot showed increased patient satisfaction, improved adherence to treatment, and decrease in gaps of care. This pilot program produced a partnership with UBER health to enhance transportation programs to not only lymphoma patients but to other cancer patients as well. This collaboration aligns with value-based care principles, promoting patient-centered, efficient, and equitable cancer care. Discussion: This work explored the benefits, challenges, and implementation strategies of this interdisciplinary partnership. The inclusion of oncology disease based social workers enhanced the identification and management of mental health concerns, social determinants of health, and resource navigation, thereby reducing the burden of non-clinical work on the ONN all while improving patient outcomes. This integrated approach ensures a more holistic model of care, addressing both the medical and psychosocial dimensions of a patient's journey. From this pilot, the ONN and OSW developed a monthly meeting to collaborate in a more formal matter to discuss high acuity patients. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Journal Article ougenre: Article language: English refInfo: holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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