Unlocking Healthcare Navigation: Key Tasks, Challenges, and Facilitators – A Narrative Review

Background: Healthcare is a complex and costly system that often creates distressing experiences for individuals managing their own or their family's health. Introduced in the United States around 1990 to reduce healthcare disparities, healthcare navigation aims to support patients and caregivers in navigating healthcare systems effectively and efficiently. This review explores the scope and importance of healthcare navigation services across clinical settings. Methods: This narrative review was informed by a broader literature search conducted as part of the author's thesis work, which included database searches, grey literature exploration, and manual screening of key medical journals. However, all studies that met the predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria and were ultimately included in this review were identified through searches of the MEDLINE and CENTRAL databases. Studies were screened and selected by the author (JZ). Findings from quantitative studies were synthesised descriptively, while qualitative findings were analysed and discussed narratively. Results: A total of 47 studies were included, comprising 29 quantitative studies, 17 qualitative studies, and one mixed-methods study\citealpbib1 contributed to both analyses. Quantitative findings indicated that healthcare navigation interventions were associated with improvement in approximately 61% of reported outcomes across diverse conditions and settings. Navigators predominantly had medical backgrounds, particularly nursing, although navigators from social, community, and non-clinical backgrounds were also reported. Across studies, formal training programmes and standardisation of navigation roles were inconsistently described. Key implementation challenges included integration within healthcare systems and limited reporting of navigator compensation and service costs. Conclusion: Healthcare navigation is a promising intervention for enhancing access to care and improving patient experiences, particularly among vulnerable and low-income populations. Its effective implementation depends on robust management structures, recruitment and training of skilled navigators, and the development of clear legal, policy, and regulatory frameworks to support the sustainability and integration of navigation services within healthcare systems.