Implementing First Nations Clinical Nurse Consultants in three metropolitan and regional Queensland cancer centres
This project aims to improve cancer outcomes by assisting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cancer patients and their caregivers to navigate the complexities of the health system and cancer care, through the employment of First Nations Clinical Nurse Consultants. First Nations Clinical Nurse Consultants will be implemented and evaluated in 3 Queensland cancer centres. At one of the participating sites, the project also involves a feasibility study of an Indigenous Patient Navigator–led brief health behaviour intervention in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cancer survivors (2022–2024).
The project is supported by funding from an NHMRC Investigator Grant, World Cancer Research Fund Seed Grant and funding received from Queensland Health, the Princess Alexandra Research Foundation and Dry July. The project is being conducted in collaboration with cancer centres within Brisbane and Cairns, and other collaborating institutions including, Flinders University, Menzies School of Health Research and Queensland Health.
2024 Investigator Update:
Thank you to all who helped get this project up and running. 2023 was a big year of discussions and planning, organising ethics and position descriptions for these roles to become a reality across all three participating sites, including Princess Alexandra Hospital, Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital and Cairns Base Hospital. These roles are to provide culturally responsive supportive care to First Nations cancer patients and their families while also collecting data to provide supporting evidence for ongoing funding. Each of the positions were advertised as a 0.8FTE for a minimum of 12months.
