AONN+ Annual Conference to Address Racial Disparities in Cancer Care

Press Releases published on November 8, 2021

CRANBURY, N.J., Nov. 8, 2021 – A research team will present findings on how to minimize – and hopefully, eliminate – racial disparities in the completion of recommended treatments for breast and lung cancers at the 2021 AONN+ annual conference.

The research findings are results from a 5-year national study called “Accountability for Cancer Care through Undoing Racism and Equity (ACCURE),” which was funded by the National Cancer Institute and led as a collaborative effort between the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, The Partnership Project, Inc., Cone Health, and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

The ACCURE study attempts to determine if technology and other tools can help African American patients with breast and lung cancer receive the same level of care as white Americans. The research team found that a real-time registry combined with feedback and navigation narrowed disparities and improved completion of treatment for all patients with breast and lung cancer.

The Academy of Oncology Nurse & Patient Navigators (AONN+) will have the ACCURE team present at the AONN+ annual conference in a session titled “Technology Innovation Integration to Address Underserved Disparate Patient Populations.”

Since its inception, a core competency of patient navigation has always been to demonstrate sensitivity and responsiveness to a diverse patient population. This work demonstrates that a working group of multistakeholder cancer care experts using community engagement, patient navigation, and healthcare system changes can lead to equitable cancer care. It highlights the role of navigation using real-time digital data with the accountability of transparent communication as an effective strategy for improving outcomes. This should intrigue insurance companies that are rewarding pay-for-performance or value-based reimbursement models,” says AONN+ Program Director Sharon Gentry, MSN, RN, HON-ONN-CG, AOCN, CBCN.

AONN+ is also collaborating with the ACCURE team to create a resource that identifies stakeholder key roles and addresses specific challenges/barriers. This resource includes process examples of defining performance improvement measurements and tracking mechanisms to approach underserved disparate patients.

The AONN+ annual conference – the 12th Annual Navigation & Survivorship Conference – will take place virtually on November 17-21, 2021. The ACCURE presentation will be held on Sunday, November 21, at 10:30 am - 11:30 am ET.

More information about the AONN+ conference can be found at https://aonnonline.org/conferences/annual-conference.

About the Academy of Oncology Nurse & Patient Navigators, Inc
The Academy of Oncology Nurse & Patient Navigators, Inc. (AONN+), is the largest national specialty organization dedicated to improving patient care and quality of life by defining, enhancing, and promoting the role of oncology nurse and patient navigators. The organization, which has more than 8900 members, was founded in 2009 to provide a network for all professionals involved and interested in patient navigation and survivorship care services in order to better manage the complexities of the cancer treatment process.

Carol Bustos, (732) 992-1893
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