Home health aide and homemaker support to help Veterans stay at home
Official title: Homemaker Home Health Aide Use and Veteran-Centered Outcomes
Funded at Durham VA Medical Center · NIH-11141035 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at how home health aides and homemaker services are used by Veterans with daily living difficulties and how those services relate to staying in the home versus moving to a nursing facility.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Durham VA Medical Center NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Durham, United States) |
| Project start | July 1, 2024 |
| Project end | June 30, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| NIH project number | 5I01HX003753-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11141035 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Veterans with substantial limitations in activities of daily living who are enrolled in VA care and eligible for Home and Community-Based Services are the primary candidates for relevance or participation.
✕Less likely to help
People without VA enrollment, those without functional care needs, or Veterans already living long-term in nursing homes are unlikely to benefit directly from participating in this work.
What this research studies
From your perspective as a Veteran or caregiver, the team will examine VA records and service data to see who uses homemaker and home health aide services and where gaps exist. They will link clinic, medical center, and local-area factors to patterns of service use and to outcomes like loss of independence or nursing home placement. The work aims to identify barriers that keep eligible Veterans from getting home-based help and to show which service patterns are tied to better Veteran-centered outcomes. Findings will be used to inform how VA organizes and offers Home and Community-Based Services so more Veterans can remain in their preferred home setting.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to changes in VA policies or programs that expand access to in-home aides so more Veterans can stay safely at home and avoid costly nursing home care.
How similar studies have gone: Prior research suggests home-based supports can help people remain at home, but evidence is limited for Veterans and for how clinic- and area-level factors drive use and outcomes.
Where this research is happening
-
Durham VA Medical Center
Durham, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Hastings, Susan Nicole — Durham VA Medical Center
- Study coordinator: Hastings, Susan Nicole
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.