Evidence into Practice

The AONN+ Evidence into Practice Committee would like to extend thanks to all who responded to our recent survey in order to glean members’ knowledge and comfort level in quality, outcomes, performance improvement, and research projects that can be considered research in the broad sense of the word.

New to quality improvement and research and want to know how to begin? The AONN+ Mentorship Workgroup of the Evidence into Practice Committee have made it simple for you.

The role of the navigator along the continuum of care is bidimensional in nature with a patient-centered (empowerment with education and knowledge) and health system (multidisciplinary) orientation to deliver timely, seamless care. Within the multidisciplinary team, the navigator works as an advocate, care provider, educator, counselor, and facilitator to ensure that every patient receives comprehensive, timely, and quality healthcare services.

AONN+ is proud to announce the release of its white paper, Academy of Oncology Nurse & Patient Navigators Announces Standardized Navigation Metrics. The white paper addresses the history of navigation, the motivation for creating the standardized metrics, and how it is going to be applied.

The Navigation Metrics Team met recently to discuss the development of evidenced-based metrics within navigation related to the various components of care with the goal of rolling out these metrics and making them available so that every program can utilize them.

The scope of navigation has evolved from the Freeman model of community outreach and prevention to spanning the entire continuum of care for oncology patients. Navigators help individuals overcome barriers to care and navigate through the screening/diagnostic, treatment, survivorship, and end-of-life care continuum.

The case study for this discussion highlights the complexities of care coordination when patients arrive unprepared physically or mentally for the recommended medical treatments as determined by guidelines. It also shows how navigators can assemble needed care team players to efficiently guide the patient through prehabilitation and preparation for medical treatment.

Along with the diagnosis of breast cancer comes many decisions regarding treatment options. Oncotype DX, a genomic/gene expression assay, provides quantitative assessment of chemotherapy benefit and risk of distant recurrence in early-stage estrogen receptor–positive (ER+), HER2/neu-negative breast cancer to assist in developing individualized treatment plans.

In 1990, Harold P. Freeman, MD, noticed that African American women in the Harlem community had a higher incidence of breast cancer mortality.