Engaging the Wisdom of Older Veterans to Enhance VA Healthcare, Research, and Services

• Published in: Journal of general internal medicine : JGIM Vol. 37; no. Suppl 1; pp. 22 - 32
• Main Authors: Nearing, Kathryn A., Adams, Hope M., Alsphaugh, James, Douglas, Serena E., Feller, Thomas R., Fleak, Robert, Moore, Vernon, Martin-Sanders, Susan, Schultz, Thomas M., Stratton, Karleen, Sullivan, J. Pat, Van Sickle, Lance, Yates, J. David, Yates, Terry A., Matlock, Daniel D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.04.2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Aged; Aging; Careers; Caregivers; Early experience; Emotions; Evaluation; Feedback; Health care; Health services; Humans; Internal Medicine; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Mental Health; Original Research: Qualitative Research; Patient Satisfaction; Patient-Centered Care; Patients; Quality control; Return on investment; United States; United States Department of Veterans Affairs; Veterans; United States; Veteran engagement; return on investment
• ISSN: 0884-8734; 1525-1497
• DOI: 10.1007/s11606-021-07076-x

Background Stakeholder engagement helps ensure that research is relevant, clinical innovations are responsive, and healthcare services are patient-centered. Objective Establish and sustain a Veteran engagement board involving older Veterans and caregivers to provide input on aging-related research and clinical demonstration projects. Design and Participants The Older Veteran Engagement Team (OVET)—a group of eight Veterans and one caregiver who range in age from 62 to 92—was formed in November 2017 and has met monthly since January 2018. The OVET provides feedback on topics that reflect the foci of the VA Eastern Colorado Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center (GRECC) (e.g., physical functioning, hearing health, and emotional wellness/mental health). Ongoing evaluation documents the return on investment of Veteran engagement. Main Measures The OVET member and provider/investigator meeting evaluations with longitudinal follow-up at 6 and 12 months. Results Return on investment of Veteran engagement is multi-faceted. For OVET, ROI ranges from grant support to improved healthcare quality/efficiency to social-emotional benefits. To date, funding awards total over $2.3 M for NIH and VA-funded projects to which OVET provided substantive feedback. Documented impacts on healthcare services include reductions in patient wait times, more appropriate utilization of services and increased patient satisfaction. Social-emotional benefits include generativity, as OVET members contribute to improving clinical and community-based supports for other Veterans. The OVET provides an opportunity for older Veterans to share their lived experience with trainees and early career investigators who are preparing for careers serving Veterans. Conclusion The OVET is similar to other established stakeholder engagement groups; team members offer their individual viewpoints at any stage of research, clinical demonstration, or quality improvement projects. The OVET provides a mechanism for the voice of older Veterans and caregivers to shape aspects of individual projects. Importantly, these projects support patient-centered care and promote the characteristics of an age-friendly healthcare system.