Sandra Morales, an experienced patient navigator, is an example of all the traits a patient navigator should demonstrate. She is highly committed to her patients’ needs and will go above and beyond to assess their barriers and provide the appropriate interventions. —Tricia Strusowski, MS, RN, Director of the SHARE Cancer Support Navigation Program
Sandra Morales, an experienced patient navigator, is an example of all the traits a patient navigator should demonstrate. She is highly committed to her patients’ needs and will go above and beyond to assess their barriers and provide the appropriate interventions.
—Tricia Strusowski, MS, RN, Director of the SHARE Cancer Support Navigation Program
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.
Background: A Spanish-speaking patient with metastatic breast cancer, a high distress screening score, and multiple barriers to care—including financial and food insecurity, homelessness, and language barrier—presented needing complex and comprehensive assistance.
The Incident: Although the patient expressed a connection with her medical team, recent staff changes and her timidness resulted in less communication. The patient’s clinical team was aware of her various needs, yet many factors played into prolonged barriers. The navigator broke through the patient’s hesitancy for assistance and built a trusting rapport with the patient, who acknowledged feeling heard and shared concerns in her native language of Spanish. Understanding the patient’s many complex issues and barriers to care, the navigator quickly and efficiently identified and addressed these concerns while acting as the patient’s advocate.
The CATCH (Intervention): The navigator encouraged the patient to reconnect with her medical team while subsequently identifying financial constraints, logistic concerns, and the patient’s timidness that caused barriers to addressing needs.
This navigator was vital in obtaining resources such as nutritional supplements, financial services, and support group access. She also acknowledged the patient’s concerns about privacy, autonomy, timidness, and feelings of burdening others, including her medical team, when asking for help. The navigator continues to promote patient advocacy and encourages the patient to be an active participant in her care.
Outcome: The patient navigator’s timely interventions improved quality of life, enhanced communication and patient empowerment, and improved the patient’s overall experience.
This positive experience also provided the opportunity to introduce information on palliative care, caregiver support, and how to care for her son as a single mother going through treatment for metastatic disease.
This CATCH case study highlights the many challenges and barriers patients and their families can face while going through a cancer journey. Many times, healthcare professionals focus on the clinical aspect of the cancer journey while limiting the holistic approach of treating the patient as an individual with unique needs. Navigation prioritizes the holistic approach to care to address clinical challenges that arise with cancer as well as psychosocial concerns that can exacerbate an already complex situation.
This navigator demonstrated this approach by meeting the patient where she was, actively listening and understanding her needs, and addressing those needs to promote a better overall patient experience.
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