How VA-funded community care affects Veterans' care quality and experiences
Leveraging a natural experiment to identify the effects of VA community care programs on health care quality, equity, and Veteran experiences
This project compares Veterans who used VA-funded community providers with those who stayed in VA care to learn how care quality, fairness, and patient experience differ.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Veterans Health Administration NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Pittsburgh, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11319807 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If you are a Veteran, this work compares people who received VA-funded care from community doctors with those who stayed in VA facilities to understand differences in care quality and experience. The team uses a natural experiment and a regression discontinuity approach to make fair comparisons based on changing eligibility under the Veterans Choice Program and the MISSION Act. They will analyze VA medical records and responses to the VA Survey of Healthcare Experiences of Patients (SHEP) to measure quality, equity, and patient ratings. Researchers will pay special attention to medically and socially vulnerable Veterans to find where community care helps or leaves gaps.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal participants are U.S. Veterans whose care was covered by VA community care programs such as the Veterans Choice Program or the MISSION Act.
Not a fit: Veterans who are not enrolled in VA care or who never used VA-funded community providers are unlikely to be directly affected by this work.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the findings could help the VA improve where Veterans get care and make community care more equitable and higher-quality.
How similar studies have performed: Prior work has explored parts of VA community care, but applying a regression discontinuity causal-design to national VA data and SHEP responses is relatively novel.
Where this research is happening
Pittsburgh, United States
- Veterans Health Administration — Pittsburgh, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Gellad, Walid F. — Veterans Health Administration
- Study coordinator: Gellad, Walid F.
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 below.