Abstract 5046: What do they do? Patient navigator actions and timely treatment within 30 days of diagnosis in Latinas with breast cancer: The Six Cities Study

Abstract

Background: Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in Latinas, primarily due to screening and treatment disparities. Patient navigation has emerged as an effective means to reduce these disparities, although how this is achieved is insufficiently documented.Methods: We analyzed navigator logs of activities conducted on behalf of 42 navigated Latinas diagnosed with breast cancer from July 2008-January 2011. Women were navigated by locally trained navigators who resolved patient-reported barriers using one of 10 specific actions: referral, accompaniment, transportation, telephone support, records assistance, health education, appointment reminders, family support, translation services, or health care system intervention. We calculated the frequency of patient-reported barriers to cancer treatment, their association with navigator actions (correlation), and the association of these actions on time to primary treatment initiation within 30 days of confirmed diagnosis (Chi-squared analysis).Results: Patients reported 323 potential barriers to care between diagnosis and initial treatment. Translation (44.3%), specific or generalized fear (14.9%), and transportation (6.5%) were the most commonly reported barriers. Barriers were resolved utilizing activities defined above as determined by navigators; some barriers were resolved with as few as one action. Correspondence (correlation) between reported barriers and navigator actions was high (r=0.985 to r=1.000). Five navigator actions were associated with earlier treatment relative to navigated women not utilizing these specific services (accompaniment: p=.006; transportation: p=.007; telephone support: p=.034; family support: p=.030; translation services: p=.004).Conclusions: Specific patient navigation activities significantly increase the proportion of Latinas with breast cancer women who begin treatment within 30 days of diagnosis. It likely results in reduction of mortality in this group.Citation Format: Amelie G. Ramirez, Eliseo J. Perez-Stable, Gregory A. Talavera, Frank Penedo, Emilio J. Carrillo, Maria E. Fernandez, Alan E. Holden, Edgar Munoz, Kipling J. Gallion. What do they do? Patient navigator actions and timely treatment within 30 days of diagnosis in Latinas with breast cancer: The Six Cities Study. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 5046. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-5046