Innovative Strategies to Address Systemic Inequities in Youth Sexual Health Programs: A Preliminary Program Evaluation.

Disparities in sexual health outcomes between racial and ethnic groups throughout the state of Washington suggest the presence of systemic inequities impeding young people's experience with and access to sexual health care and education. Emerging innovations in sexual health look to center young people, particularly those who have been historically excluded, in the design and implementation of programs that aim to serve them. The Washington Youth Sexual Health Innovation and Impact Network (WYSHIIN) and 11 grant-funded partners engaged communities of youth across the state of Washington, including Two Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, and/or asexual (2SLGBTQIA+) and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) youth, with the goal of equitably engaging participants and stakeholders to broaden services in schools and community settings.

Using Cognitive Interviews to Adapt Interpersonal Violence Measures for Use With Middle School Youth.

Experiences of interpersonal violence are common among youth. Starting prevention programming early (e.g.

Using community-engaged methods to develop a study protocol for a cost analysis of a multi-site patient navigation intervention for breast cancer care.

Background: Patient navigation is an evidence-based intervention for reducing delays in oncology care among underserved populations. In order to address the financial sustainability of this intervention, information is needed on the cost of implementing patient navigation in diverse healthcare settings. Because patient navigation programs and care settings are highly variable, this paucity of cost data creates difficulties in identifying best practices and decisions about the feasibility of implementing navigation programs within a health care system.

Assessment of patient navigation programs for breast cancer patients across the city of Boston.

Purpose: Healthcare systems contribute to disparities in breast cancer outcomes. Patient navigation is a widely cited system-based approach to improve outcomes among populations at risk for delays in care. Patient navigation programs exist in all major Boston hospitals, yet disparities in outcomes persist.

Translating research into practice: Protocol for a community-engaged, stepped wedge randomized trial to reduce disparities in breast cancer treatment through a regional patient navigation collaborative.

Background: Racial and socioeconomic disparities in breast cancer mortality persist. In Boston, MA, Black, Non-Hispanic women and Medicaid-insured individuals are 2-3 times more likely to have delays in treatment compared to White or privately insured women. While evidence-based care coordination strategies for reducing delays exist, they are not systematically implemented across healthcare settings.

Standardized activities for lay patient navigators in breast cancer care: Recommendations from a citywide implementation study.

Background: There is a need for guidelines on patient navigation activities to promote both the quality of patient navigation and the standards of reimbursement for these services because a lack of reimbursement is a major barrier to the implementation, maintenance, and sustainability of these programs.

Methods: A broad community-based participatory research process was used to identify the needs of patients for navigation. A panel of stakeholders of clinical providers was convened to identify specific activities for navigators to address the needs of patients and providers with the explicit goal of reducing delays in the initiation of cancer treatment and improving adherence to the care plan.