Patients undergoing cancer treatment at Northern Health will now receive additional support to bolster their emotional well-being through a one-of-a-kind initiative.
The hospital developed the Volunteer Peer Health Navigators program in conjunction with the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre to bring cancer patients and people with lived experience of the disease together – with the latter providing essential assistance and guidance to help patients navigate their treatment.
According to Victorian Centre for Virtual Health Research at Northern Health associate professor Rebecca Jessup, the program was introduced to determine if volunteer peer health navigators could improve access to health care and the care journey for people with cancer.
“The program is being co-led by patients, carers, family members and clinical and research staff,” she said.
“We hope to learn a lot and to share our learnings so that the program can be implemented in other hospitals.”
Currently, the initiative is only running for cancer patients — with the health service looking for additional volunteers to support their efforts.
“To date we have a small group of trained volunteer peer health navigators…,” Ms Jessup said.
“Having support from someone who has been through similar experiences is really important.
“Evidence has shown that it fosters trust and a sense of understanding that can’t be replicated by those without lived experience.”
If you are interested in becoming a peer health navigator, or have any questions, please contact the Volunteer Peer Health Navigator (VPHN) Research Team by email NH-HealthNavigators@nh.org.au or mobile 0448 188 719.
Tara Murray and Prealene Khera
