Improving cancer care for underserved populations in an academic and community practice setting: protocol for a community health worker pilot navigation programme.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Delaying cancer treatment following diagnosis impacts health outcomes, including increasing patient distress and odds of mortality. Interventions to promote timely healthcare engagement may decrease patient-reported stress and improve quality of life. Community health workers (CHWs) represent an enabling resource for reducing delays in attending initial oncology treatment visits. As part of an ongoing programme evaluation coordinated by the Merck Foundation, we will implement a pilot navigation programme comprising CHW-conducted needs assessments for supporting patients and their caregivers. We aim to investigate (1) the programme's influence on patients' healthcare utilisation within the period between their first diagnosis and initial treatment visit and (2) the logi

SUBMITTER: Suen JJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9716923 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature