Increasing the Oncology Nurses' Knowledge of, and Barriers to, the Nurse Navigator Role

1 online resource (70 pages) : PDF

2020

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

The American Cancer Society estimated that more than 1.7 million people would receive a new cancer diagnosis, and over 600,000 people would die from cancer in the United States in 2019 (American Cancer Society, 2019). Cancer patients face multiple challenges, including navigating a complex healthcare system. The navigator role is integral in meeting those challenges and seeks to improve patient outcomes. The purpose of this project was to implement interventions to increase the ambulatory oncology nurses’ knowledge of barriers, and utilization of the oncology nurse navigator role. The interventions included the implementation of an online learning module and participation in a focus group discussion. A one-group, pre-test, and post-test were used to measure a change in oncology nurses’ knowledge of the nurse navigators’ role. A paired sample t-test noted statistical significance in 9 out of 12 content areas measuring knowledge related to the nurse navigators’ core competencies and role and responsibilities. The study's findings indicated the online learning module did improve the oncology nurses’ knowledge of the oncology nurse navigators’ role. A thematic analysis was used to examine the perceived barriers to utilization of the navigator role as told by oncology nurses. Four themes emerged during the focus group- nurse navigator responsibilities, benefit of navigator role for improved patient outcomes, barriers to utilization and challenges to accessibility. These findings are relevant for future studies and discussions related to the oncology nurse navigators’ role in cancer patient care.

doctoral dissertations

Nursing
Oncology

D.N.P.

Cancer Patients
Nurse Navigator
Oncology Patients
Patient Navigation

Health Services Research

Woods, Stephanie
Brandon, Jamie

Lisenbee, Kelly
Heggastad, Eric

Thesis (D.N.P.)--University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 2020.

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