Improving Cancer Patient Access to Clinical Trials Across Canada Using the Clinical Trials Navigator Program A Multi-Center Stepped Wedge Study

What this Trial Is About

This research focuses on improving clinical trial enrollment for patients living with cancer in Canada. It evaluates the Clinical Trials Navigator CTN program, which was initially piloted in Windsor, Ontario, and aims to help patients, families, and healthcare providers find and enter meaningful clinical trials across Canada. The study addresses the common barrier of limited trial availability at patients local cancer centers, especially in rural and smaller community hospitals where enrollment rates are lowest. The study uses a stepped wedge, cluster randomized controlled trial design to roll out the CTN program sequentially to twenty cancer centers over 12 months. The CTN program includes expert navigators who perform thorough searches for available trials, a publicly accessible referral process, continuous quality improvement, and knowledge sharing. Two groups are compared standard care processes for trial enrollment and the CTN program-assisted enrollment process. Participants include patients receiving treatment for breast cancer and healthcare professionals at participating centers. Data collection involves monthly physician surveys to track patient referrals and enrollments in trials outside their home centers, as well as structured interviews with stakeholders before and after CTN program implementation. The study measures referral rates to clinical trials, enrollment rates, stakeholder attitudes, barriers to referral and enrollment, and the CTN programs scalability. The entire study lasts 12 months with no follow-up beyond this period.

Enhancing the Patient Journey to Clinical Trial Enrolment With Navigation to Optimize Accrual