Qualitative evaluation of a new tobacco cessation training curriculum for patient navigators.

Treatments for tobacco dependence exist but are underutilized, particularly among low-income and minority smokers. Patient navigation has been shown to help patients overcome barriers to quality care. In preparation for testing the feasibility of integrating tobacco cessation patient navigation into primary care, this paper describes the development and qualitative evaluation of a new curriculum for training patient navigators to address cessation treatment barriers faced by low-income, minority smokers who are advised to quit by their physicians.

Characteristics of the original patient navigation programs to reduce disparities in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer.

Background: Patient navigation is an intervention developed to reduce disparities in cancer care that is being widely replicated and receiving considerable support for demonstration projects and research to test its effectiveness. In the current study, the authors present an in-depth descriptive analysis of the original patient navigation programs to inform current and future program development.

Methods: A qualitative multistakeholder case study using interviews and site visits of the first patient navigation site and 2 sites subsequently developed by the leadership of the original site were evaluated.