Innovative Persistence in Action: Supporting Sustainable Patient Navigation Across the Continuum
This learning collaborative was designed to support cancer centers and patient navigation teams in assessing, planning for, and strengthening the long-term sustainability, standardization and implementation of high-quality patient navigation programs by applying the: Promising Practices Supporting the Sustainability of Patient Navigation: An Implementation Guide and the Patient Navigation Sustainability Assessment Tool (PNSAT).
Goals/Aims for this ACS NNRT & ACS LION Learning Collaborative:
- Advance Sustainable Patient Navigation Practice
Strengthen participants’ understanding of the core principles and domains that support the long-term sustainability and impact of patient navigation programs.
- Build Organizational Insight and Strategic Readiness
Support participants in developing a comprehensive, systems-level understanding of their navigation program’s current capacity, readiness, and sustainability within their organizational context.
- Strengthen Strategic Planning and Continuous Improvement
Empower participants to translate assessment findings into strategic priorities and action-oriented plans that promote program growth, resilience, and measurable outcomes.
- Enhance Leadership, Communication, and Advocacy Capacity
Build participants’ confidence and ability to effectively communicate the value, needs, and outcomes of patient navigation programs to administrators, leadership, and key decision-makers.
Specific Objectives:
By participating in the Learning Collaborative, participants will:
- Deepen understanding of navigation sustainability domains
Increase knowledge and practical understanding of the eight sustainability domains within the PNSAT Framework through structured learning and real-world case studies, including:
- Engaged Staff and Leadership
- Organizational Context and Capacity
- Funding Stability
- Engaged Community
- Communication, Planning, and Implementation
- Workflow Intergration
- Monitoring and Evaluation
- Outcomes and Effectiveness
*Each learning collaborative cohort will include education on the eight domains for sustainability with a specific focus on pre-determined domains.
*The first cohort will focus on workflow integration, monitoring and evaluation and outcomes and effectiveness.
- Assess their program sustainability and readiness
The Learning Collaborative will support participating sites in completing baseline and follow-up PNSAT assessments to identify program strengths, gaps, and priority areas for improvement, using concepts and tools from the Promising Practices Implementation Guide.
- Focus improvement efforts for actionable learning
- Participating in a collaborative-wide focus on two to three prioritized domains, while maintaining awareness of all eight domains.
- Develop and apply an Implementation Action Plan
Enable participants to create a feasible, context-specific Implementation Action Plan informed by PNSAT results, the Promising Practices Implementation Guide, and Learning Collaborative content to advance navigation program sustainability.
Foster a national community of practice
Establish and strengthen a national community of practice that promotes shared learning, peer support, and sustained commitment to navigation program sustainability as a core component of comprehensive oncology care.
Participants:
Participants will be up to 20 cancer centers (2 people from each) representing diverse geographies, program sizes, and populations served. Ideally, each site includes a Navigation Team Lead and Administrative or Institutional Champion. Program staff are from ACS NNRT and ACS LION as well as leadership.