AUTHORS: Ruta K. Valaitis, Nancy Carter, Annie Lam, Jennifer Nicholl, Janice Feather and Laura Cleghorn
First introduced in the 1990s, patient navigator programs linking people and families to community-based health and social services have emerged as a primary strategy to address barriers and inequitable access to quality care.
In their sweeping literature review for BMC Health Services Research, Ruta K. Valaitis et al studied nearly three dozen papers to identify factors influencing development, implementation and evaluation of patient navigation programs — along with successful strategies to inform future interventions. This fact sheet outlines the 11 key drivers identified by Valaitas et al.