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Resources by Topic: Veterans

Native American Veterans: Ensuring Access to VA Health Care and Benefits
Recording of a hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs discusses access to benefits and healthcare for American Indian and Alaska Native veterans. Features testimonies from representatives for the Indian Health Service, the Veterans Health Administration, the Blackfeet Veterans Alliance, the National Congress of American Indians, the National Indian Health Board, and National Council of Urban Indian Health.
Additional links: Larry Wright Jr. Testimony, Leo Pollock Testimony, Mark Upton Testimony, Nickolaus Lewis Testimony, Roselyn Tso Testimony, Sonya Tetnowski Testimony
Date: 11/2022
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organizations: Committee on Veterans' Affairs, U.S. Senate
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Improving the Oral Health of Rural Veterans
Report explores rural veterans' access to oral healthcare. Compares the oral health of rural and urban veterans, highlights barriers to oral healthcare in rural areas, and makes recommendations for expanding access to oral healthcare.
Author(s): Annaliese Cothron, Hayam Megally, Don Clermont
Date: 11/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: CareQuest Institute for Oral Health
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VA Health Care: Additional Action Needed to Assess the Medical Scribe Pilot
Discusses the Veterans Health Administration's design of a medical scribe pilot program at 11 Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers. Describes seven lessons learned identified by VHA officials. Highlights challenges to hiring scribes in rural areas.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 11/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Veterans Community Care Program: VA Needs to Strengthen Its Oversight and Improve Data on Its Community Care Network Providers
Describes how the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) monitors contractor compliance with the Veterans Community Care Program network adequacy standards and related requirements. Examines the extent to which the VA's contractors are meeting network adequacy standards. Discusses the experiences of VA medical facility officials when scheduling routine appointments for veterans. Offers recommendations to ensure that contractors report complete performance data and increase the accuracy of community provider information.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 11/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Counties With High Veteran Poverty Rates Tend to Be Nonmetropolitan
Map identifying counties with high or extreme high poverty rates among military veterans, based on American Community Survey 2015-2019 data.
Date: 11/2022
Type: Map/Mapping System
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
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Evidence Brief: Safety and Effectiveness of Telehealth-Delivered Mental Health Care
Presents an overview of research evidence on the safety and effectiveness of telehealth-based mental healthcare for veterans. Discusses outcomes and studies of telehealth treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, substance use, and multiple mental health conditions.
Additional links: Supplemental Materials
Author(s): E.H. Beech, S. Young, J.K. Anderson, B.E. Belsher, N.J. Parr
Date: 10/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
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Use of and Retention on Video, Telephone, and In-Person Buprenorphine Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Examines modality of treatment delivery for patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) and how various modalities are associated with 90-day patient retention. Analyzes 17,182 Veterans Health Administration (VHA) patients who received buprenorphine for OUD treatment from March 2020 to March 2021 by video, telephone, in-person care, or a combination of the modalities. Includes data broken down by age, sex, race/ethnicity, VHA eligibility, housing status, substance use, mental health, comorbidities, and rurality, including urban, large rural, small/isolated rural, and unknown location.
Author(s): Madeline C. Frost, Lan Zhang, H. Myra Kim, Lewei (Allison) Lin
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 5(10), e2236298
Date: 10/2022
Type: Document
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Mapping Rural and Urban Veterans' Spatial Access to Primary Care Following the MISSION Act
Presents a study on primary care access for rural, micropolitan, and urban areas after the implementation of the 2018 MISSION Act. Bases findings on supply and demand of and for primary care providers in regions of varying rurality for veterans in Oregon.
Author(s): Eliana Sullivan, Whitney E. Zahnd, Jane M. Zhu, et al.
Citation: Journal of General Internal Medicine, 37(12), 2941-2947
Date: 09/2022
Type: Document
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Implementation of an Intensive Telehealth Intervention for Rural Patients with Clinic-Refractory Diabetes
Analyzes the implementation of Advanced Comprehensive Diabetes Care (ACDC) to address type 2 diabetes (T2D) in rural patients. Examines 230 patients receiving ACDC through Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Home Telehealth (HT) infrastructure. Discusses the potential of telehealth to deliver specialty care to hard-to-reach populations.
Author(s): Elizabeth A. Kobe, Allison A. Lewinski, Amy S. Jeffreys, et al.
Citation: Journal of General Internal Medicine, 37(12), 3080-3088
Date: 09/2022
Type: Document
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Federal Funding for Transportation Programs Serving Older Adults and People with Disabilities
Discusses the role of federal funding as a primary source of funding to support transportation programs that meet the needs of older adults and people with disabilities. Describes funding programs from the Department of Transportation, the Department of Health and Human Services, AmeriCorps, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Highlights programs for rural and tribal communities.
Date: 09/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Aging and Disability Transportation Center
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