Development, Implementation, and Evaluation of a Curriculum to Prepare Volunteer Navigators to Support Older Persons Living With Serious Illness

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to report the development, implementation, and evaluation of a curriculum designed to prepare volunteer navigators to support community-dwelling older persons with serious chronic illness. The role of the volunteer navigator was to facilitate independence and quality of life through building social connections, improving access to resources, and fostering engagement. A curriculum was constructed from evidence-based competencies, piloted and revised, and then implemented in 7 subsequent workshops. Workshop participants were 51 volunteers and health-care providers recruited through local hospice societies and health regions. Curriculum was evaluated through satisfaction and self-efficacy questionnaires completed at workshop conclusion. Postworkshop evaluation indicated a high degree of satisfaction with the training. One workshop cohort of 7 participants was followed for 1 year to provide longitudinal evaluation data. Participants followed longitudinally reported improved self-efficacy over 12 months and some challenges with role transition. Future improvements will include further structured learning opportunities offered by telephone postworkshop, focusing on advocacy, communication, and conflict management. Overall, volunteers were satisfied with the curriculum and reported good self-perceived efficacy in their new role as navigators.

What role do Death Doulas play in end‐of‐life care? A systematic review

“…While there are death doula training organisations in Australia, curricula content and duration appears to be individual to each, with no central register of death doulas nor regulatory body, which may mean that some death doulas lack adequate peer support or supervision (Trzeciak‐Kerr, ). The Native Navigators referred to earlier received over 200 hr of training, with follow‐up sessions and debriefing through supervision that was included as part of the program (Rocque et al, ), although other authors have said that these navigators’ qualifications and training also vary (Duggleby et al, ). “Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioners” while registering via a central regulatory body, also highlight the importance of ongoing professional training and regulation to support the role (Hill et al, ).…”

Adopting a lay navigator training programme in primary care

“…Established navigation programmes, such as those for cancer screening and health disparities, commonly implemented a more formal training curriculum that covered condition-or populationspecific content and communication approaches, and delivered using multiple methods such as lectures, case studies and role-plays (Calhoun et al, 2010;Shelton et al, 2011). Other studies have described similar core training content such as clinical assessment and education, which was then further defined by patient needs and the health system employing the navigator (Ciccarelli and Scheid, 2019;Duggleby et al, 2018).…”

How do inner and outer settings affect implementation of a community-based innovation for older adults with a serious illness: a qualitative study

“…This study applied the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR; 14), to examine a community-based volunteer program called Nav-CARE (Navigation-Connecting, Accessing, Resourcing, Engaging). Nav-CARE is an evidence-based program that has been evaluated in several communities using mixed methods analysis, it has been found to have a positive impact on the quality of life of older persons living with serious illness [25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32]. The program trains volunteers to provide navigation services to older adults and their families dealing with serious chronic illness [25,28].…”

“…Nav-CARE is an evidence-based program that has been evaluated in several communities using mixed methods analysis, it has been found to have a positive impact on the quality of life of older persons living with serious illness [25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32]. The program trains volunteers to provide navigation services to older adults and their families dealing with serious chronic illness [25,28]. Community-based volunteer navigators complement the role of healthcare professionals by focusing on the daily challenges seniors experience as they progress through the illness trajectory, rather than healthcare navigation [18].…”