Nancy Peña, OPN-CG, Founder and Director, Navegación de Pacientes International, describes the differences in navigation in Guatemala versus the United States. Navigators face challenges with time, money, and data collection. Rowan Robinson, BN, MSN, Navigator/Quality Lead, Netcare, Ltd, South Africa, says that South African navigators encountered suspicion from patients, which led to a marketing campaign to introduce navigation.

Navigators must educate providers and patients about the role of the navigator and how it differs from other practitioners, such as social workers, says Nancy Peña, OPN-CG, Founder and Director, Navegación de Pacientes International. Rowan Robinson, BN, MSN, Navigator/Quality Lead, Netcare, Ltd, South Africa, mentions the crucial need for education across the board since navigation is a new practice in South Africa.

As the Director for Corporate Oncology Navigation at Ballad Health, Zilipah Cruz believes that the 2018 AONN+ Annual Conference helped her understand the needs of the oncology navigators at her institution. While oncology navigators help remove the barriers that keep patients from getting the appropriate treatment, administrators like her help remove the barriers that oncology navigators face.

Steve Pittman attributes blame and shame as major barriers that prevent patients with mental health issues from seeking psychosocial support.