Understanding how rural Veterans get mental health care through community providers
Official title: Understanding Community-based Mental Healthcare for Rural Veterans with Military Sexual Trauma
Funded at Michael E Debakey VA Medical Center · NIH-11471351 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This grant aims to improve access to high-quality mental health care for rural Veterans who have experienced military sexual trauma by building a community-engaged program with non-VHA providers.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Michael E Debakey VA Medical Center NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Houston, United States) |
| Project start | April 1, 2022 |
| Project end | March 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| NIH project number | 5IK2HX003347-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11471351 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Rural Veterans who have experienced military sexual trauma and need mental health care.
✕Less likely to help
Veterans in urban areas or those not using community care for mental health may see limited direct benefit.
What this research studies
Many rural areas lack enough mental health clinicians, making it hard for Veterans to get care. The project will explore how the Veterans Community Care Program currently works and develop strategies with local providers to improve access and quality of care for rural Veterans. It will involve engaging community partners and applying a state-of-the-art access model to design a program that supports non-VHA clinicians in delivering effective mental health services to MST-affected Veterans. The work focuses on rural Veterans with MST, a group with higher psychiatric distress and suicide risk but lower likelihood of receiving therapy in rural settings. The effort may lead to scalable approaches that connect rural Veterans with timely, high-quality mental health care.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, rural Veterans with MST could gain faster access to effective mental health services through trusted community providers.
How similar studies have gone: Previous work shows gaps in access in rural areas; this project builds on that knowledge with a community-engaged approach specific to MST.
Where this research is happening
-
Michael E Debakey VA Medical Center
Houston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Boykin, Derrecka M — Michael E Debakey VA Medical Center
- Study coordinator: Boykin, Derrecka M
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.