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Patient Navigators

Connecting Our Mob: Patient navigators As Sustainable Supports

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Patient Navigators are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with lived experience of kidney disease and transplantation, with the job of helping other kidney patients understand and navigate the complex kidney health pathway. 

Why is it important?

Kidney disease disproportionately impacts Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia, yet treatment access and outcomes are not optimal due to the complex and culturally unsafe pathways to transplantation. 

Patient Navigator programs in South Australia and the Northern Territory are accepted by Community as a culturally safe way to improve access to the transplant waitlist. However, these programs currently operate independently across two jurisdictions that share one transplantation unit (Royal Adelaide Hospital). 

Existing Patient Navigators have identified that the coordination of programs is required to ensure sustainability and continuity of care from renal sites through to the transplant unit.  

An introduction to Patient Navigators:

Navigating your transplant journey in SA:

The National Indigenous Kidney Transplantation Taskforce is funded by the Commonwealth, represented by the Department of Health, in contract with the Transplantation Society of Australia and New Zealand (TSANZ) and the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI), housed within Australia and New Zealand Dialysis and Transplant Registry (ANZDATA). The NIKTT's main operations take place on Kaurna Country. 

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