Resources

Patient Navigation Resources

The Institute encourages patient navigation professionals to share resources by providing links and contact information about services, events, and other resources of value to others. As “keepers” of the information we will edit and post appropriate submissions as they are received. 

​There is a growing litany of resources concerning patient navigation. Listed directly below are seminal works that have been important in the field of patient navigation.  In addition, other sections outline various resources that patient navigators and their clients will find useful. 

  • Freeman, Harold P,.(2012) The Origin, Evolution, and Principles of Patient Navigation. Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention, 21(10), 1614-1617.
  • Freund, K.M., Battaglia, T.A.,  Calhoun, E., Dudley,D.J., Kevin Fiscella, K., Paskett, E., Peter C. Raich, P.C.,. Roetzheim, R.G. The NCI Patient Navigation Research Program Methods, Protocol and Measures. Cancer. 2008 December 15; 113(12): 3391–3399. doi:10.1002/cncr.23960.
  •  Kashima, K., Phillips, S., Harvey, A., Villalobos, A., Pratt-Chapman, M.L. (2018) Efficacy of the Competency-Based Oncology Patient Navigator Training. Journal of Navigation and Survivorship.  
  • Pratt-Chapman, M.L., *Willis A., & Masselink L. (2015). Core competencies for oncology patient navigators. Journal of Oncology Navigation and Survivorship, 6(2), 16-21.
  • Swanson, J. R., Strusowski, P., Mack, N, Degroot, J. Growing a Navigation Program: Using the NCCP Navigation Assessment Tool. OI, July-August 2012 / www.accc-cancer.org, 36-45.
  • Valverde,P.A., Burhansstipanov, L., Patierno, S., Gentry,S.,  Andrea Dwyer, A.; Wysocki, K; Patterson, A.K., Krebs, L.,Sellers, J., and Johnston, D., Findings From the National Navigation Roundtable: A Call for Competency-Based Patient Navigation Training. Cancer, 2019.
  • Willis A., Reed E., Pratt-Chapman, M.L., Kapp H., Hatcher E., Vaitones V., Collins S., Bires J., & Washington E. (2013). Development of a framework for patient navigation: delineating roles across navigator types. Journal of Oncology Navigation & Survivorship, 4(6), 20-26. ​
  • U.S. Government Grants (Grants.gov) is a primary resource for funding in a variety of fields but is especially strong in healthcare funding.  This is a critical organization for new patient navigation programs.
  • Health and Human Services (HHS) – enhance and protect the health and well-being of all Americans by providing for effective health and human services and fostering advances in medicine, public health, and social services.Toll Free Call Center: 1-877-696-6775.
  •  Health Information Privacy (HIPAA)– HHS information about federal laws concerning patient privacy.
  • ​ Mental Health (mentalhealth.gov) – HHS approaches to improving mental health.
  •  Health Resources and Services Administration – HRSA coordinates county level data resource products from over 50 sources.​​​​​
  • National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) –  A private nonprofit organization that builds consensus around important health care quality issues by working with large employers, policymakers, doctors, patients and health plans to decide what’s important, how to measure it, and how to promote improvement. Ph: 888-275-7585.
  • Outline of US Health Agencies – A listing provided by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) of important US Health Agencies (see HHS above).
  • Patient-Centered Outcomes Research (PCORI) – A federally funded grant agency to improve the quality and relevance of evidence available to help patients, caregivers, clinicians, employers, insurers, and policy makers make informed health decisions. Contact at pfa@pcori.org or 202-627-1884.
  • The Joint Commission (JCAHO) – The Joint Commission is the nation’s predominant standards-setting and accrediting body in health care. Ph: 630-792-5800. 
  • The Administration for Community Living – A primary source about agencies and organizations engaged in eldercare navigation.

  • ​​Fun  Activities for People with Dementia provides a variety of activities for those with Alzheimers.​
  • Alzheimer’s and Dementia Resources from Parent Giving is a good listing of resources that answer many questions about this topic.
  • Alzheimer Support is a free service to assist with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. It has a search tool and nationwide database of Alzheimer’s care facilities. 
  • A 2021 Guide to Alzheimer and Dementia -What you need to know and what new research is available from TOPREHAB.
  • Assisted Living by Senior Guidance.org provides listings of senior housing opportunities throughout the U.S.
  • Depression is a resource from Maryville University which also offers education possibilities.
  • Depression and Addiction is an article describing depression and addiction issue by Iris Healing.
  • Depression Resource Guide from the Columbus Recovery Center provides an excellent summary and resources for the treatment of mental health issues.
  • Eating Disorders by Within Health.com offers a variety of resource articles about topics such as Anorexia, Bulimia, body image, etc.  This is a worthwhile site for information.
  • Employment & Mental Health is a Joblist article that provides a summary of steps people with mental illness can take to improve their employment options.
  • How Mental Health Affects Physical Health provides a summary of this topic for health professionals.
  • Mental Health: I Am Not Alone is a service offered through the Mental Heatth America to help people make connections and find resources.
  • Mental Health and Sleep Guide from Mattress Nerd offers a a comprehensive mental health and sleep guide which provides tips and advice from medical doctors on how to get a better night’s rest. good overview of this area.
  • Mental Health – Anxiety by Fingerprint for Success is a blog about mental health issues for individuals and organizations.
  • Mental Health and Plant-Keeping ​is an article about the mental health benefits of plant-keeping during COVID.
  • Mental Health Crisis is an article from the Columbus Recovery Center that provides a useful description of how to handle suicide and other emergency situations.
  • Sleep –21 Tools for Emotional Wellness and Sleep Health provides useful guidance on sleep and mental health.
  • Sleep Derprived Cities from Hotdog.com offers information about sleep-deprivation and identifies 25 cities where the issue is most severe.
  • Sleep – Inside Bedroom is a website and blog that provides interesting information about how to improve sleep.  It has some interesting sleep statistics for 2024. 
  • Sleep – What you need to know about Insomnia is a guide from HealthMatch that outlines the attributes of sleep and Insomnia.
  • Tools for Emotional Wellness and Sleep is a blog from Mattressclarity.com about maintaining emotional wellness.
  • Types of Anxiety Disorders – In Children is a resource from AMFM Healthcare.org that provides a good resource to better understand mental health in kids.
  • Best Sleep Health – has an extensive guide – Your Blueprint To A Better Night’s Sleep & Improved Mental Health – which is packed with helpful tips and ideas to sleep better at night and enjoy improved mental health.
  • Vision and Mental Health (The Link Between Your Mental Health and Your Vision)is a guide to issues faced by those with vision problems. This publication by MyVision.org is an excellent resource.
  • AONN Navigation Metric Toolkit This toolkit reflects the current recommendations from AONN+, recommendations from a pilot study, as well as best practices gleaned from navigators and navigation experts across the nation. The toolkit provides navigators with guidance on how to select, implement, report, and utilize navigation metrics as they engage in quality/performance improvement and strategic decision-making, It is focused on oncology practices.
  • ​​Better Care Playbook – The Better Care Playbook helps you find the best in evidence-based practices and promising approaches to improve care for people with complex health and social needs. It is sponsored by six leading health care foundations, and led by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement with support from the Center for Health Care Strategies.  It breaks projects out by state.
  • Boston Medical Center Patient Navigation Toolkit. This toolkit helps implement a Patient Navigation program with the best chance of reducing health disparities and improving health outcomes for patients. It contains evidence-based and experience-based examples, case studies, practical tools, and resources for program leaders and patient navigators.. It assists in establishing an evidence-based patient navigation program.
  • Patient Navigation Effectiveness Toolkit is an assessment toolkit for patient navigation programs.This toolkit is designed for Patient Navigation program managers who have little to no experience with evaluation. The purpose of the toolkit is to help identify goals, identify what measures can be tracked to help determine if goals are being met, creating data collection tools, and some basic descriptive analysis. 
  • Cancer Patient Navigator Toolkit This cancer patient navigator toolkit defines patient navigation and provides program implementation tools such as a patient navigator position description, intake, and barriers to care forms, along with a sample cancer treatment plan and summary form. The toolkit provides some nice cancer specific information on the efficacy of patient navigation.
  • US Rural Community Health Workers (CHW) Toolkit. This toolkit compiles promising practices and resources to support rural communities seeking to develop CHW and patient navigation programs. CHWs are public health or social service workers who are close to and serve members of the community by helping them to adopt healthy behaviors. They may also be known as community health representatives, lay health workers, promotoras, peer health promoters, and peer health educators.
  • Affordable Health Insurance.com has shared several great articles that link to a variety of insurance services:
  • Grants for Native Americans  is a site that helps financially disadvantaged native american families with finding grants. These grants help families with utility bills, energy bills, mortgage payments, rent, medication, education and medical bills.
  • Grants & Resources for Military Veterans (https://veteransaidgrants.org/) provides financial assistance for those who have served our country and are experiencing financial challenges.  
  • Grants for Seniors is a nonprofit engaged in helping older americans to find and use fiscal resources for  health care, rent, housing, food, clothing, transportation, and daily life and others. It operates and has information in all 50 states and over 200 cities.
  • Grants for the Disabled is a nonprofit thatoffers state and national variety of resources and sites for persons with diabilities.
  • Findhelp.org is a national and local site to find many types of help. Search and connect to financial assistance, food pantries, medical care, and other free or reduced-cost services.
  • Financial Assistance for Single Moms provides a listing of social services and grants throughout the U.S. and many major cities.
  • Free Grants for Veterans  provides places and organizations where Vets can apply for help for housing, healthcare, cash, etc.
  • Free Grants for Women offers links to organizations and government agencies nationwide that provide financial assistance for women.​
  • Grants for Low-Income – Resources, resources, and grants for various states and groups.​
  • Help with Paying Bills – A compilation of resources available to help low-income people to pay bills in states throughout the United States – it lists grants to help with medical, water, education, medication, housing, groceries, and other bills..
  • Homeless Shelters Thoughout the U.S. A listing of housing options throughout the country for those undergoing bouts of homelessness from homelesssheltersnet.
  • ​Needy Meds Grants provides links to grants from a variety of drug companies to reduce medication costs.
  • Health Well Foundation offers grants to needy individuals with chronic or life altering diseases.
  • Insurance Resources – Tips about insurance from Pete Alberti with Health Solutions.
  • Medicare Insurance Resources – Facts from a medicare provider, Medicareplans.com
  • Paying for Senior Care – State and community resources for assisting with and understanding senior care resources.
  • Academy of Oncology Nurses & Patient Navigators (AONN+) –  A national oncology-focused membership organization dedicated to improving patient care and quality of life by defining, enhancing, and promoting the role of nurse and patient navigators. This is an important source about the growth of patient navigation.
  • Alliance of Professional Health Advocates (APHA) – A national organization of patient advocates that focuses on helping advocates establish successful patient assistance businesses.  Contact them at info@APHAdvocates.org or 352-459-0509.
  • Community Resource Finder is a listing done by AARP and the Alzheimer’s Foundation – a neat resource.about age and dementia resources.
  • National Association of Healthcare Advocacy (NAHAC) – A membership organization to improve patient outcomes through continuing education, promotion of national standards of practice, and active pursuit of policy change that lead to excellent patient-centered healthcare. Contact them at info@nahac.com.​
  • National Navigation Roundtable – The NNRT is a national collaborative of organizations working together to advance patient navigation efforts.  Membership includes partners from diverse sectors including academia, public health, advocacy and survivor groups, professional societies, industry, training, and state and federal agencies.  
  • Alp​aBlog – A blog by Trish Torrey with APHA
  • Best Senior Careaging resources helps with the placement of aging adults throughout the U.S. The site discusses various types of services for the aged.
  • Caregiver articles from Janet Campbell with Elderspark and Caregiver resources: Caregiver Considerations – Financing Care
  • CDC Webinars and Broadcasts – Monthly short presentations concerning heart disease & stroke. There are numerous other webinars on a variety of topics.
  • Center for Health Care Strategies is a source for medical and healthcare resources for low-income persons. They have a good selection of webinars.
  • National Council on Aging –  resources and information for advocates and patient navigators who work with older adults.
  • Patient Empowerment Network – A blog about effectively engaging patients in healthcare.  This a great resource about implementing patient-centered care with an emphasis in oncology.
  • Patient Navigation and Survivorship Newsletter – This is an important resource for patient navigation news with a focus in oncology from George Washington University Medical School Cancer Institute. They offer links to training opportunities for navigators.
  • Patient Navigation Training Collaborative – The Patient Navigation and Community Health Worker Training program (PNCT) offers a full curriculum for patient navigators, care coordinators and community health workers. Although it is Colorado focused, it provides good training options for patient navigators and CHWs.
  • Podnosis is a Fierce Healthcare resource that uses podcasts to discuss major healthcare issues and directions.  Although it is focused towards administrators, it has good insights on what is happening in areas that impact effective patient navigation.
  • The Community Guide – A resource for public health and patient care issues.
  • The Medical Futurist provides information on medical breakthroughs through a weekly newsletter and video clips. It is a great way to keep up with new stuff.
  • Education & Teaching Guides provides a listing of national education resources based on your particular interests.
  • Continuing Education from Relias Academy offers educational opportunities from a variety of healthcare organizations.
  • Online Courses for Adults is a blog by Broadbandsearch.net and offers a great listing of education online options.
  • Online Safety for Seniors is a website that provides an excellent resource for all internet usersand is a vital source for guarding your personal (and medical) information.