Abstract
BACKGROUND: Achieving adequate, timely, and diverse trial enrollment remains a major challenge in clinical research. Insufficiently diverse patient representation compromises the generalizability of clinical trial findings and remains a persistent issue in oncology. Navigation services may help patients learn about clinical trials, identify and overcome barriers, and progress through the care pathway to trial enrollment and retention. METHODS: We implemented a patient navigation program to support diverse enrollment and retention of patients in cancer clinical trials; the proximal outcomes were receipt of financial navigation and trial interest. The study was conducted from July 2023 to July 2024 at two demographically diverse health care settings: a university-based tertiary healthcare system and an integrated safety-net healthcare system. Evaluation was guided by the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance framework and incorporated programmatic data, structured surveys of patients and staff, and qualitative patient interviews. RESULTS: The program navigated 429 oncology patients (52% female, 28% Hispanic/Latino (HL), and 16% non-HL Black). Compared to the underlying patient population of the clinical settings, program participants were more likely to be Hispanic (31% vs. 21%; p < 0.01), female (52% vs. 48%; p = 0.01) and from a minority race (30% vs. 24%, p ≤ 0.01). Within the population who were successfully contacted, 325 of 408 (92%) patients already enrolled in a trial received financial navigation to help with trial retention. Among the remaining 83 patients not enrolled in a cancer clinical trial at the time of referral, 39 (47%) expressed interest in participating in a clinical trial in thefuture. CONCLUSION: A patient navigation program to influence enrollment and retention of diverse patients into trials was feasible to implement, highly acceptable to patients, and reached a priority population of patients generally underrepresented in cancer clinical trials. Further research into the effect of navigation on trial enrollment and retention is warranted.