Outpatient palliative care for older veterans
Outpatient Palliative Care Implementation to Improve Outcomes for AgingVeterans
This project compares different outpatient palliative care approaches to help older veterans with serious long-term illnesses feel better and get care that matches their goals.
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 ID | NIH-11365626 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If you are an older veteran with multiple chronic illnesses, researchers will look at how outpatient palliative care is being used across the VA and when people get referrals. They will start with large-scale VA data to map who gets outpatient palliative care, timing relative to hospital stays and death, and clinic characteristics. Next, they will follow up with qualitative work such as interviews or case studies of palliative care teams to learn how services are organized and what helps or hinders good outpatient care. The findings will inform a future comparison of outpatient palliative care models to find approaches that work best for veterans.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates are older U.S. military veterans with multiple chronic or life-limiting conditions who receive outpatient care through the VA.
Not a fit: People who are not VA patients, younger adults without chronic or life-limiting conditions, or those who only receive inpatient palliative care are unlikely to benefit directly from this work.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help the VA deliver outpatient palliative care earlier and in ways that improve quality of life and end-of-life care for veterans.
How similar studies have performed: Palliative care in hospitals has improved quality of life and end-of-life care, but outpatient palliative care has been studied less and results to date are mixed.
Where this research is happening
Durham, United States
- Durham VA Medical Center — Durham, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Kaufman, Brystana G. — Durham VA Medical Center
- Study coordinator: Kaufman, Brystana G.
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.