Making long-term care easier to get at home for older Veterans
Official title: Helping VA optimize its long-term care services
Funded at Veterans Admin Palo Alto Health Care Sys · NIH-11241068 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project will help the VA expand home and community long-term care options so older Veterans can get care where they prefer.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Veterans Admin Palo Alto Health Care Sys NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Palo Alto, United States) |
| Project start | July 1, 2020 |
| Project end | December 31, 2025 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| NIH project number | 5IK2HX002860-06 |
| Project ID | NIH-11241068 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Older Veterans enrolled in VA health care who are eligible for long-term services and supports and who currently live at home or in the community are the primary focus.
✕Less likely to help
Veterans who are not enrolled in VA long-term care programs or who need high-intensity institutional care may not see direct benefits from this work.
What this research studies
From your point of view, researchers are looking at how the VA decides who gets long-term care and why many Veterans still end up in institutions instead of at home. They will analyze VA records and spending patterns, compare local home-health service availability across regions, and study how family caregiving affects where care happens. The team will combine administrative data with community-level information and may talk with caregivers and VA staff to understand barriers. The goal is to find practical ways the VA can better target and support home- and community-based services.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could increase access to home- and community-based care so more older Veterans receive care at home instead of in nursing facilities.
How similar studies have gone: Other systems like Medicaid have shifted more care to home- and community-based services with measurable success, but applying those lessons to the VA context is partly new and specific to Veterans.
Where this research is happening
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Veterans Admin Palo Alto Health Care Sys
Palo Alto, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Jacobs, Josephine — Veterans Admin Palo Alto Health Care Sys
- Study coordinator: Jacobs, Josephine
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.