Abstract Fifteen Veterans Administration Medical Centers (VAMCs) offer geriatric specialty care telehealth services through a hub and spoke model to patients at affiliated community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs). These services are not used to the extent they could be. Through interviews with 50 staff and providers at rural CBOCs we identified several implementation facilitators and barriers. CBOC-level barriers included space constraints, low staffing, internet connection issues, and limited knowledge of services available and referral processes. Patient-level barriers included discomfort with technology, cognitive decline, and inability to travel to the CBOC. We found that champions within the CBOC and iterative, targeted outreach from the hub helped facilitate uptake of services. We entered the identified barriers into the CFIR-ERIC (Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research-Expert Recommendations for Implementing Change) Implementation Strategy Matching Tool to help generate targeted strategies that will be used to refine each hub’s implementation approach.
Background: Text messaging (short message service, SMS) is a widely accessible and potentially cost-effective medium for encouraging behavior change. Few studies have examined text messaging interventions to influence child health behaviors or explored parental perceptions of mobile technologies to support behavior change among children. Objective: Our aim was to examine parental acceptability and preferences for text messaging to support pediatric obesity-related behavior change. Methods: We conducted focus groups and follow-up interviews with parents of overweight and obese children, aged 6-12 years, seen for "well-child" care in eastern Massachusetts. A professional moderator used a semistructured discussion guide and sample text messages to catalyze group discussions. Seven participants then received 3 weeks of text messages before a follow-up one-on-one telephone interview. All focus groups and interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Using a framework analysis approach, we systematically coded and analyzed group and interview data to identify salient and convergent themes. Results: We reached thematic saturation after five focus groups and seven follow-up interviews with a total of 31 parents of diverse race/ethnicity and education levels. Parents were generally enthusiastic about receiving text messages to support healthy behaviors for their children and preferred them to paper or email communication because they are brief and difficult to ignore. Participants anticipated high responsiveness to messaging endorsed by their child's doctor and indicated they would appreciate messages 2-3 times/week or more as long as content remains relevant. Suggestions for maintaining message relevance included providing specific strategies for implementation and personalizing information. Most felt the negative features of text messaging (eg, limited message size) could be overcome by providing links within messages to other media including email or websites. Conclusions: Text messaging is a promising medium for supporting pediatric obesity-related behavior change. Parent perspectives could assist in the design of text-based interventions. Trial Registration: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT01565161; http://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT01565161 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6LSaqFyPP).
Abstract The need to expand rural geriatric services has received increasing attention within and outside the VHA, yet medical center leaders are often challenged to prioritize expanding these services among myriad competing needs. To better understand potential levers to move rural geriatrics up the priority ladder, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 11 former leaders in the Veterans Health Administration. We explored perspectives on how health system priorities can be aligned to improve the quality and reach of rural geriatric care and solicited best practices for advocating for rural geriatric care at the local, regional and national level. Leaders shared that there was no ‘best way’ to advocate, prompting the development of an advocacy field guide to advance rural geriatric services. The guide draws from our interview data, policy analysis, and best practices in communication and advocacy to help local leaders and champions make a case for expanding rural geriatric resources. The guide describes multiple avenues to purposefully employ “the right strategy, for the right person, at the right time”, including data from mapping local and regional gaps and needs for services, storytelling, relationship building, building a business case, aligning rural geriatrics with regional and national goals, and making geriatrics “personal”. Providing actionable, easy-to-use resources to local champions can support efforts to expand rural geriatric services locally and nationally.
Abstract Background Despite increasing commitment to patient engagement in research, evaluation of the impact of these efforts on research processes, products, and teams is limited. Objective To explore the impacts of engaging patients as consultants to research studies by examining the experiences, impacts, and lessons learned from a program facilitating patient engagement at a Veterans Health Administration research center. Design We developed a logic model to articulate the activities being implemented to support patient engagement and their anticipated outcomes. Then, we conducted qualitative, semi-structured interviews with participants in the local Veteran Consulting Network to qualitatively explore these outcomes. Participants Twelve researchers and eleven Veteran patients with experience working on at least one grant or funded study. Approach Interview transcripts were inductively coded using a consensus-based approach. Findings were synthesized using framework analysis and mapped back onto our logic model of expected patient engagement impacts. Key Results Patient engagement improved the perceived quality and relevance of research studies as patient consultants challenged researchers’ assumptions about patient populations and clinical contexts and gave feedback that helped improve the feasibility of proposed grants, readability of study materials, comprehensiveness of study assessments, and cultural sensitivity and relevance of interventions. Patient engagement also had personal benefits to researchers and patients. Researchers reported improved communication skills and higher job satisfaction. Patients reported a sense of purpose and satisfaction from their work with greater awareness of and appreciation for research. Conclusions Engaging patients in research can have multiple benefits to the people and work involved. Our evaluation process can serve as a template for other organizations to plan for and assess the impact of their own patient engagement programs. Creating logic models and updating them based on feedback from program users make engagement goals explicit, help verify expected mechanisms to achieve impact, and facilitate organizational learning.
Background Patients’ life contexts are increasingly recognized as important, as evidenced by growing attention to the Social Determinants of Health (SDoH). This attention may be particularly valuable for patients with complex needs, like those with HIV, who are more likely to experience age-related comorbidities, mental health or substance use issues. Understanding patient perceptions of their life context can advance SDoH approaches. Objectives We sought to understand how aging patients with HIV think about their life context and explored if and how their reported context was documented in their electronic medical records (EMRs). Design We combined life story interviews and EMR data to understand the health-related daily life experiences of patients with HIV. Patients over 50 were recruited from two US Department of Veterans Affairs HIV clinics. Narrative analysis was used to organize data by life events and health-related metrics. Key results EMRs of 15 participants documented an average of 19 diagnoses and 10 medications but generally failed to include social contexts salient to patients. In interviews, HIV was discussed primarily in response to direct interviewer questions. Instead, participants raised past trauma, current social engagement, and concern about future health with varying salience. This led us to organize the narratives temporally according to past-, present-, or future-orientation. “Past-focused” narratives dwelled on unresolved experiences with social institutions like the school system, military or marriage. “Present-focused” narratives emphasized daily life challenges, like social isolation. “Future-focused” narratives were dominated by concerns that aging would limit activities. Conclusions A temporally informed understanding of patients’ life circumstances that are the foundation of their individualized SDoH could better focus care plans by addressing contextual concerns salient to patients. Trust-building may be a critical first step in caring for past-focused patients. Present-focused patients may benefit from support groups. Future-focused patients may desire discussing long term care options.
The US Veterans Health Administration (VA) is transforming its healthcare system to create a Whole Health System (WHS) of care. Akin to such reorganization efforts as creating patient-centered medical homes and primary care behavioral health integration, the WHS goes beyond by transforming the entire system to one that takes a proactive approach to support patient and employee health and wellness. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic disrupted the VA's healthcare system and added stress for staff and patients, creating an exogenous shock for this transformation towards a WHS.
ABSTRACT BACKGROUND Individuals with disabilities experience higher rates of abuse than the nondisabled. Few evidence‐based prevention interventions have been published despite a need for such work. This study evaluated IMPACT :Ability, a safety and self‐advocacy training for individuals with cognitive and/or physical disabilities. METHODS A quasi‐experimental design was used to assess change in safety and self‐advocacy knowledge, confidence, and behaviors among special education high school students in Boston, MA . Instruments were interviewer‐administered at 3 time points. Analysis of covariance ( ANCOVA ) was used to compare change between the intervention (N = 21) and wait‐list (N = 36) groups. Repeated measures analysis was used to test change in the complete sample (N = 57). RESULTS Students were diverse (58% males, 82% nonwhite) with a range of disabilities. Significantly greater improvement in key outcomes, including safety and self‐advocacy knowledge, confidence, and behavior, were observed in intervention students compared to the wait‐list group. Results in the complete sample showed evidence of further improvements in students' sense of safety and general self‐efficacy. CONCLUSIONS These findings are encouraging given the effects were demonstrated in a heterogeneous urban population. IMPACT :Ability may be an effective safety and self‐advocacy training for students with disabilities. Further research will be required to determine effectiveness within particular subpopulations of students.
Abstract Older, rural adults have limited access to quality geriatric specialty care for several reasons including relatively few geriatric specialists in rural areas and lack of transportation options or patient ability to travel to more urban centers. GRECC Connect is a promising telehealth-hub and spoke model that provides rural patients access to teams of multidisciplinary geriatric specialists in more urban medical centers primarily by video connection with affiliated community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs). This model provides a viable option for increasing access to geriatric specialty care for rural patients but is not used to the extent it could be. To date, much of our understanding of this model has come from the experts at the hub medical centers. To learn more about the experience of this model from the field we interviewed CBOC staff and providers as well as Veterans and their caregivers about geriatric specialty telehealth services. In this symposium we will discuss facilitators and barriers to implementing this model from the perspective of the field and then explore more deeply both the context of the CBOC environment and the older patient population served by rural CBOCs to further understand the challenges that are faced in attempting to connect older patients with telehealth services. Finally, we will share the perceived value of the service and alignment with local needs. This deeper understanding of the experience of the ‘spoke’ may help enhance access to much needed geriatric specialty care for rural veterans.
Explore the perceived benefits of a Veterans Health Administration (VHA) geriatric specialty telemedicine service (GRECC Connect) among rural, older patients and caregivers to contribute to an assessment of its quality and value.In Spring 2021, we interviewed a geographically diverse sample of rural, older patients and their caregivers who participated in GRECC Connect telemedicine visits.A cross-sectional qualitative study focused on patient and caregiver experiences with telemedicine, including perceived benefits and challenges.We conducted 30 semi-structured qualitative interviews with rural, older (≥65) patients enrolled in the VHA and their caregivers via videoconference or phone. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using a rapid qualitative analysis approach.Participants described geriatric specialty telemedicine visits focused on cognitive assessments, tailored physical therapy, medication management, education on disease progression, support for managing multiple comorbidities, and suggestions to improve physical functioning. Participants reported that, in addition to prescribing medications and ordering tests, clinicians expedited referrals, coordinated care, and listened to and validated both patient and caregiver concerns. Perceived benefits included improved patient health; increased patient and caregiver understanding and confidence around symptom management; and greater feelings of empowerment, hopefulness, and support. Challenges included difficulty accessing some recommended programs and services, uncertainty related to instructions or follow-up, and not receiving as much information or treatment as desired. The content of visits was well aligned with the domains of the Age-Friendly Health Systems and Geriatric 5Ms frameworks (Medication, Mentation, Mobility, what Matters most, and Multi-complexity).Alignment of patient and caregiver experiences with widely-used models of comprehensive geriatric care indicates that high-quality geriatric care can be provided through virtual modalities. Additional work is needed to develop strategies to address challenges and optimize and expand access to geriatric specialty telemedicine.
Abstract The aim of GRECC Connect is to increase access to specialty care for medically complex, older, rural patients through e-consultations and telehealth visits. We interviewed 50 outpatient clinic staff and providers as well as 30 patients and caregivers about these services. Overall, the services were considered beneficial. For patients and caregivers, services alleviated the stress and cost of travel, they improved quality of life by increasing their understanding of the progression of an illness and providing treatment and guidance to increase patient functioning and reduce disruptive behaviors, and they eased anxiety associated with not receiving needed care. Having ‘another set of eyes’ on the patients reduced stress and anxiety for providers. Concerns included alignment of telehealth modality with the capabilities of older patients with cognitive problems, hearing loss and/or limited technological abilities and, for some providers, that the referral for and recommendations resulting from the service added to their workload.
