Tracking fixable social needs to target wraparound support for Veterans in treatment courts
Surveillance of Modifiable Social Determinants of Health for Prioritizing Wraparound Supports
This project tracks changeable needs like housing, jobs, and transportation for Veterans in Veterans Treatment Courts to guide who gets extra wraparound help to stay connected to opioid and mental health care.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Bedford, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11091455 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
You would be part of a program that monitors eight changeable social needs — job insecurity, housing insecurity, financial and food insecurity, legal problems, family/social problems, transportation problems, and exposure to violence — that can make it hard to stay in treatment. The team links this surveillance to the MISSION-CJ approach, which offers coordinated psychosocial supports alongside usual Veterans Justice Outreach services. That information is used to prioritize who receives extra wraparound services aimed at keeping people engaged in medications for opioid use disorder and other treatments. The work is done in partnership with local Veterans Treatment Courts and the VA system in order to reach Veterans at greatest risk of overdose or reoffending.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates are Veterans enrolled in Veterans Treatment Courts who have co-occurring opioid use disorder and mental health conditions and who report one or more of the identified social needs.
Not a fit: Veterans who are not in Veterans Treatment Courts, who do not have opioid use disorder or co-occurring mental health conditions, or whose problems do not match the eight tracked social needs are less likely to benefit directly from this program.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could help get the right housing, employment, legal, and transportation supports to Veterans most likely to drop out of opioid and mental health care and reduce overdose and reoffending.
How similar studies have performed: Related programs like MISSION-CJ have shown promise in linking Veterans to services, but using routine surveillance of these eight social needs to prioritize wraparound supports is a newer, less-tested approach.
Where this research is happening
Bedford, United States
- Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital — Bedford, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Yu, Hong — Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital
- Study coordinator: Yu, Hong
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.