Adolescent Patient Navigator Program
- NT Mental Health Coalition
- 7 days ago
- 2 min read
Meeting the complex needs of NT youth presenting to the Emergency Department.
The Adolescent Patient Navigator program (ADNAV-ED) is a new enhanced model of care offered to young people in the Emergency Department (ED) at Royal Darwin Hospital. This is a pilot research project that is supported by the NT Government and Menzies School of Health Research. The project is a co-designed model of care (co-designed by young people) and is funded by a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) grant.
It aims to help young people who present to the ED by making sure their health and social needs are looked after. This means making sure that the hospital, community health and social services all work better together to provide a young person with the support they need.
This is a voluntary service and participants can say no to support at any time.
Who can participate?
Young people between the ages of 14 and 18 who present to the ED when the navigator team are on shift can be involved.
How can the navigator team help?
Navigators can help guide young people through their hospital journey in a number of ways:
Finding their way through the hospital from checking in to going home from the ED
Listening and providing culturally safe and youth friendly care
Focusing on their wellbeing, including mental health and social issues
Advocating for the young person when requested
Support with coping strategies
Providing information on referrals and access to health, social and supportive services
Following a visit to ED:
Navigators will contact young people by phone or text (if consenting) within 2 – 3 days to check in and support any additional linkages with services outside of ED.
Young people will also be given the opportunity for an additional follow up in 6 to weeks after their initial visit. This will happen through phone calls and by the patient navigation team liaising with community services to ensure community follow up has been successful.
Why are adolescent patient navigators needed?
For some young people in the NT, having good health and wellbeing can be hard, and they face many challenges that are unique to the NT context. These can include:
living remotely or away from home
living with mental health concerns or alcohol/drug use in themselves or someone they know
concerns about their physical health, such as rheumatic heart disease or type 2 diabetes
Knowing which services are available and what they can do can be tough to navigate, which is why having navigators to help young people find their way is important.
For more information
Dr Sarah Watson
Principal Investigator
Ph: (08) 8922 8888
Rachel Buckley
Menzies School of Health Research and PhD Candidate and Chief Investigator
Menzies School of Health Research
Ph: (08) 8946 8600
Additional Resource
“Co-designing, implementing and evaluating a patient navigation model of care to meet the complex needs of NT youth presenting to the Emergency Department.”
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