Training of community health workers to deliver cancer patient navigation to rural African American seniors.

Authors: Klimmek RK, Noyes E, Edington-Saunders K, Logue C, Jones R, Wenzel J.

Rural-dwelling African American (AA) seniors with cancer may experience significant challenges that can lead to disparities in cancer-related outcomes and overall quality of life. There is a need for sustainable, culturally appropriate support for these seniors and their support persons within the communities they live in. Prior research has shown that cancer patient navigation (CPN) delivered by CHWs can improve cancer-related outcomes, although this has never been tested in this population. To promote sustainability, acceptability, and effectiveness of the intervention, its development should be guided by AA seniors in rural communities affected by cancer-related health disparities, and through inclusion of local partners on the research team. This paper presents lessons learned from ongoing research designed to develop and test a CPN intervention for rural AA seniors with cancer and their support persons.