Highlights from Friday, November 8, 2019

Conference Highlights published on November 15, 2019 in 2019 Annual Conference

Full Day of Conference Events Opened with Inspiring Keynote Speech

We were proud and honored to welcome Nancy G. Brinker, Founder of Susan G. Komen and the Promise Fund of Florida, Global Cancer Advocate, Consultant, and Three-Time Ambassador, as our tenth anniversary keynote speaker.

When Ms Brinker’s sister, Susan, was dying, she made a promise to her that she would do everything she could to end breast cancer. The Susan G. Komen Fund was the result, and now Ms Brinker has set a new goal by starting The Promise Fund, which provides grants to community-based entities that help women who need screening or treatment for breast or cervical cancers.

Ms Brinker shared with the audience the inspiring story of her own activism, and how it had been nurtured by her mother throughout her childhood in the postwar years in the Midwest. Ms Brinker was a dynamic, passionate, and relatable speaker, who also wove bits of wisdom about gender, aging, and history into her talk. After her prepared remarks, Ms Brinker joined our own Lillie Shockney for further discussion about Ms Brinker’s lifelong work as a cancer advocate.

Unlocking Navigation Acuity

Oncology patient navigation is defined as a measure of a patient’s distress, medical and psychosocial barriers, complexity of illness, and social determinants. Although acuity has been measured in the inpatient setting and the outpatient infusion space, it was unclear how acuity could be applied to oncology patient navigation. The need for a measure of acuity became clear when the AONN+ leadership began working on metrics. In collaboration with Astellas US LLC, the AONN+ Acuity Team began exploring a standardized, evidence-based oncology patient navigation Acuity Tool that would help navigators to characterize the intensity of the navigation workloads; allocate navigation resources; and measure the effectiveness of navigation on patient outcomes.

AONN+ Acuity Team members Danelle Johnston, MSN, RN, HON-ONN-CG, OCN, Chief Nursing Officer, Senior Director of Strategic Planning and Initiatives, The Lynx Group; Cheryl Bellomo, MSN, RN, OCN, HON-ONN-CG, Oncology Nurse Navigator, Intermountain Cancer Center, Cedar City Hospital; and Wendy D. Latash, PhD, Director, Patient Experience as Outcomes, Astellas presented the session on acuity, “the critical measure.” In it they explored the attributes that support navigation acuity, the body of literature surveyed in developing the tool, and a case scenario examining the effects of barriers and distress on acuity.

As explained by Ms Johnston, the objectives of the session were to (1) define the difference between navigation acuity and productivity; (2) state how acuity is measured across programs and settings; (3) discuss the background, development methodology, and present the next steps of the team as they work to finalize the AONN+ Acuity Tool.

Previously, the team presented a session titled “Acuity the 36th Metric National” at the AONN+ 9th Annual Conference in 2018. During the general session, they employed the conference Audience Response System (ARS) to gauge response to some of their initial research questions. They also distributed a questionnaire and conducted one-on-one interviews with navigators. In addition to these surveys, their research also included a review of the literature and a retreat, Unlocking Navigation Acuity Retreat, in Dallas, TX.

When it is completed, the acuity tool is expected to support and enhance the effectiveness of oncology navigators through patient-centric, evidence-based methods that may have the potential to decrease the overall cost of care.

A highlight of this session was again the use of ARS, which attendees accessed through the conference app on their phones or tablets. This feature allowed the session moderator, Danelle Johnston, to ask questions and immediately share the responses. Ms Johnston confirmed that the audience responses to the questions were in alignment with what the committee had found in its earlier research.

The team also conducted focus groups at the AONN+ Annual Conference in November 2019 in Nashville.

The focus groups will collect navigators’ perceptions of the design and the function the acuity tool will play in their work environment. As the team continues to refine the results of its research and develop the tool, look for more updates. It is expected that the team will test the acuity tool for reliability and validity in 2020.

Sexuality and Cancer

Being diagnosed with cancer is a life-altering experience, and one that is filled with loss. Quality-of-life studies have identified cancer survivors’ concerns, including altered sexuality. As Dr Bolte explained, sexuality and intimacy are critical pieces of quality of life. In the case of patients with cancer, the incidence of altered sexuality is high and can persist for years. Altered sexuality negatively affects the quality of life of the cancer survivor AND the intimate partner(s). She stated that 10% to 100% of patients will experience some form of sexual dysfunction.

In this comprehensive session, Dr Bolte defined the “sexual self” and its integration into the patient’s overall identity. She then enumerated the ways in which cancer and the treatments for cancer impact the sexual self. She covered a range of physical, emotional, and social issues that affect patients with cancer and their ability to experience desire, or to continue to have the sex life they enjoyed prior to their diagnosis.

Dr Bolte also provided information for access to handouts and other resources for navigators to both raise their comfort level in navigating patients with sexual issues, and for helping those patients to a better quality of life.

Welcome to the CONQUER Booth!

In addition to showcasing all the latest information about oncology-related products and services, the Exhibit Hall at the annual conference was the launch site for our brand new CONQUER: the patient voice booth. We wanted to reach out to ensure that all navigators are able to leverage the content in the magazine and our companion CONQUER website, so we developed this booth just for navigators and just for CONQUER. We created some handy materials for you to use in your practice, produced a video (conveniently uploaded to its own “business card” flash drive) to walk you through our patient-friendly website, and heard your comments and suggestions about CONQUER. We enjoyed talking with everyone who stopped by and we loved hearing how much you and your patients love CONQUER. Look for the CONQUER booth at future conferences and see what’s happening.

The day closed with a Dessert Reception and the presentation of awards in the poster categories. The best of the best were honored, and we hope it inspired many to submit an abstract or poster for next year’s conference!

Read Highlights from Saturday, November 9, 2019

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