Occupational Therapists in Patient Navigation: A Scoping Review of the Literature.
Kristina M Kokorelias, Hardeep Singh, Alexandra N Thompson and 4 others
PMID 37070245WHAT IT FOUND
Patient navigation programs rarely specify occupational therapy expertise.
Across ten studies, navigation roles focused on coordination and advocacy, leaving the core OT competency of assessing occupational barriers largely absent from current job descriptions.
Key findings
01None of the included articles provided an explicit definition of the patient navigator role.
02The functions of patient navigators mapped to five of six occupational therapy competencies, but none aligned with the 'Occupational therapy expertise' domain.
03The majority of included studies (8 of 10) described the navigator role as a single-person position rather than a team role.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
Only ten articles were included, indicating a very small evidence base. The search was limited to English-language publications. The review focused on programs involving chronic illness, potentially excluding acute care navigation models. The mapping of competencies relied on the authors' interpretation of the text, as no studies referenced these specific guidelines. Demographic data of the navigators themselves were not reported in the source studies.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest. One author's post-doctoral fellowship was funded by the Slaight Family Foundation.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume this review proves occupational therapists are ineffective patient navigators. It reports that the existing literature does not describe how OT-specific expertise is used, likely because the roles are not defined that way in the studies reviewed, not because the skill is absent.