The CATCH: In Support of Clinical Trials and Reducing Health Disparities

The June 2023 CATCH Is Awarded to Liliana Larsson, MSN, RN, OCN, CCRP, TTS, Pancreatic Nurse Navigator With MD Anderson Cancer Center

June 2023 Vol 14, No 6 —June 14, 2023

Liliana Larsson, MSN, RN,
OCN, CCRP, TTS

Offering clinical trials to all patients is a significant step to help close the gap in health disparities and promote an equal distribution of the benefits and burdens of research participation.

—Liliana Larsson, MSN, RN,
OCN, CCRP, TTS

A CATCH is a navigation success story where a navigation tactic improved a patient’s situation. The CATCH Initiative, short for Catching & Addressing Threats to Care & Health, tracks and acknowledges positive outcomes of navigation tactics.

The CATCH of the Month

Background: After medical record review, Liliana noticed that a patient needed a medical oncology evaluation and identified that the patient met criteria for a clinical trial.

The Incident: A Hispanic patient presented with suspicious findings for pancreatic cancer and requested a surgical evaluation. After her initial assessment, Liliana discovered the patient showed signs of metastatic disease and facilitated the patient’s consultation with a medical oncologist.

The CATCH (Intervention): Understanding the patient would benefit from a medical oncology consult due to potential metastatic disease, the navigator coordinated a GI medical oncology consult and identified that the patient met criteria for a clinical trial. Liliana, a bilingual pancreatic nurse navigator, was able to provide culturally competent care to educate the patient and family on the clinical trial process and potential benefit for the patient.

Outcome: Liliana was able to fast track the patient into the trial through swift recognition of inclusion criteria specific to that clinical trial. Although the patient was not originally aware that he was a candidate for a clinical trial, through an anticipatory approach and excellent care coordination on the part of the navigator, the patient was able to access standard of care.

The Importance of the CATCH

As reported by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, “Historically, clinical trials did not always recruit participants who represented the individuals most affected by a particular disease, condition, or behavior….This shortcoming has created gaps in our understanding of diseases and conditions, preventive factors, and treatment effectiveness across populations.”1 Navigation can often fill this gap by building trusting rapport with patients and caregivers while identifying and addressing barriers to care, including health disparities. In fact, navigation was originally developed to address health disparities in Harlem by Harold Freeman, MD.2

Navigators are crucial to enhancing access to clinical trials and reducing health disparities, making a huge impact on addressing health inequities and increasing diversity in clinical trials.

References

  1. National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities. Diversity and Inclusion in Clinical Trials. www.nimhd.nih.gov/resources/understand ing-health-disparities/diversity-and-inclusion-in-clinical-trials.html. Published April 24, 2023. Accessed May 2, 2023.
  2. Goodman A. The Birth of Patient Navigation. Journal of Oncology Navigation & Survivorship. www.jons-online.com/jons-categories?view=article&artid =1327:the-birth-of-patient-navigation&catid=29.
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Last modified: August 25, 2023

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