Publications
Document Type
Article
Subject Area(s)
Humans; Male; Black or African American (statistics & numerical data); Health Services Accessibility; Healthcare Disparities (ethnology); Patient Navigation (organization & administration); Prostatic Neoplasms (therapy, ethnology); United States
Abstract
PURPOSE
African American/Black men are disproportionately impacted by prostate cancer (PCa). Patient navigation is an evidence-based approach to address barriers to care, improve access to care and health outcomes, and reduce disparities. This scoping review provides an in-depth examination of navigation programs in PCa care across the cancer continuum, with a focus on African American/Black men in the United States.
METHODS
We conducted a comprehensive literature search through September 1st, 2023, in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and CINAHL Complete, using keywords and index terms within three main themes: PCa, patient navigation, and African American/Black men. We included studies that described or investigated navigation programs/interventions for PCa from screening through survivorship and included at least 30% African American/Black men.
RESULTS Of the 3,556 articles identified, 8 were included. Two articles covered the same navigation program-one reported the protocol and one reported quasi-experimental trial results. All but one study was conducted prior to 2012. The most common navigation activities reported were care coordination, education/information provision, and comfort/emotional support. Navigation improved screening uptake, PCa management, and access to supportive services. Only 3 articles provided information on navigation training. Both clinical (e.g., nurses) and non-clinical (e.g., peers) navigators were reported. Only 1 article discussed cultural tailoring to African American/Black men.
CONCLUSION
Navigation programs in PCa care are beneficial; however, few studies were identified despite disease burden and disparities among African American/Black men. Contemporary navigation programs tailored for African American/Black men are needed to address persistent disparities.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
Publication Info
Published in Supportive Care in Cancer : Official Journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer, Volume 33, Issue 11, 2025, pages 947-.
APA Citation
Smith, A. N., Campbell, B. A., Andemeskel, G., Tahir, P., Egbunikeokye, J., Felder, T. M., Cicerelli, B., & Palmer, N. R. (2025). Addressing barriers to care for African American men facing prostate cancer: a scoping review of navigation programs. Supportive Care in Cancer, 33947.https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-025-10009-7
Rights
© The Author(s) 2025 This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.