GO2’s Joelle Fathi Wants to Transform Healthcare

Joelle Fathi is on a mission to make a meaningful contribution and transform healthcare to make it more equitable. It’s an ambitious goal that GO2 for Lung Cancer’s chief healthcare delivery officer believes is essential to increase lung cancer survivorship in the long term.

We caught up with Fathi to talk to her about her work at GO2 for Lung Cancer and learn more about what this powerlifter turned oncology nurse practitioner does when she’s not re-envisioning her profession. She jumped right into the conversation with a question of her own.

“What do we need to know to provide equitable healthcare to all who are at risk or living with lung cancer?” asked Fathi. “What does a truly diverse group of patients and caregivers want researchers to focus on?”

Fathi hopes that new research will help answer these questions. They’re important questions, and to date there has been limited outreach to communities of color and other marginalized groups around the lung cancer research agenda. Getting answers is essential because, from diagnosis to treatment, serious disparities and health inequities exist in under-resourced and diverse communities. Diverse communities including people of color and those who identify as LGBTQ experience variable healthcare access and quality treatment which leads to worse outcomes.

Engaging 1,000 lung cancer survivors and caregivers

The Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) has awarded GO2 an Engagement Award to convene a diverse group of 1,000 lung cancer survivors and caregivers to participate in a new lung cancer engagement network. The heart of the project is to engage a representative group of lung cancer survivors and caregivers to identify research priorities to improve equitable health outcomes for all people diagnosed with lung cancer.

The Building Capacity and Patient Engagement within a Stigmatized Lung Cancer Community project also aims to develop training materials for patients, researchers, and providers—to build capacity and engage more people with lung cancer in comparative effectiveness research.

“The goal isn’t just to inform research priorities for the lung cancer community,” said Fathi. “Ultimately, we need to understand and remove structural and systemic barriers to patient-centered research that leads to high-quality care and health outcomes.”

Defining excellence across the care continuum

Current evidence informs us in defining best practices. GO2’s Centers of Excellence (COE) program uses this evidence to promote high-quality care delivery and designate screening and care centers that meet evidence-based criteria. Through our COE program, we have defined standards for high-quality lung cancer care—from comprehensive biomarker testing to smoking cessation and beyond.

What has yet to be defined? Health equity for the lung cancer community. Health inequities place an already stigmatized community at even greater risk.

“We don’t know what equity looks like for the lung cancer community in our health systems and how to measure it,” said Fathi. “We need to know not only who we’re serving in our health systems but also, more importantly, who we aren’t serving, and how to proactively and effectively engage them.”

Getting answers is Fathi’s mission—and part of GO2’s goal to improve both care and access to care for everyone at risk for or living with lung cancer.

Volunteering to make a difference

In addition to her job at GO2, Fathi volunteers one evening a week at a mobile community health clinic in her hometown of Seattle. The clinic serves an immigrant community with little or no health care access. Fathi also teaches nursing at the University of Washington. And, of course, she carves out time to spend with her husband and their two sons.

“I’m so fortunate to have work that I adore,” said Fathi. “I love training the future workforce and working in multidisciplinary clinical teams where we collectively move the envelope forward and care for people in great need. Most importantly, I’m grateful for my work at GO2, where I’m in good company with people who are deeply committed to the mission of improving the lives of those who are at risk and experiencing lung cancer.”

Recognition for leadership and service

Fathi was recently inducted into the prestigious Fellows of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (FAANP) program. As a Fellow of the AANP, Fathi joins a diverse group of 908 Nurse Practitioners. She is recognized for her outstanding achievements, leadership, and exemplary service, profoundly impacting national and global health.