Outpatient goals-of-care conversations for Veterans with serious illness
Official title: Improving Implementation of Outpatient Goals of Care Conversations for Veteranswith Serious Illness
Funded at VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System · NIH-11350382 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project tries out ways to help Veterans with serious illness have clear conversations about their care wishes during outpatient clinic visits instead of only in the hospital.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Aurora, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | October 1, 2021 |
| Project end | September 30, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| NIH project number | 5I01HX002935-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11350382 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are Veterans with serious illness who receive outpatient care at participating VA clinics and are willing to discuss life-sustaining treatment preferences.
✕Less likely to help
People without a serious illness, Veterans who do not use VA outpatient services, or those who already have clear, documented care plans may not directly benefit.
What this research studies
You would be offered supports to have goals-of-care conversations during routine VA clinic visits, including tools for patients and prompts for clinicians. The team will use an adaptive sequential multiple assignment randomized trial (SMART) that changes which strategies are used over time based on what works best. The study will track whether these conversations happen in outpatient settings, how well preferences are recorded, and whether care follows those preferences. Participation may include short surveys and review of your VA medical records to see where and how conversations occurred.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could help more Veterans discuss and document their wishes earlier so care aligns with their goals and reduces unwanted treatments.
How similar studies have gone: Some prior advance care planning programs have improved documentation and satisfaction, but outpatient implementation at scale is limited and this adaptive SMART approach is relatively novel.
Where this research is happening
-
VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System
Aurora, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Bekelman, David B. — VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System
- Study coordinator: Bekelman, David B.
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.