Veterans Health
Topic Spotlight
The Veterans Health Administration spent $78 billion in the 2019 fiscal year. (Congressional Budget Office)
More than nine million veterans are currently enrolled in the VA health care program. (CBO)
The number of PCORI-funded comparative effectiveness research studies that involve or are recruiting veterans, are based at the VA health centers, or focus on conditions on topics highly relevant to veterans and those who care or them. (As of March 2022)
Patient and Veteran Engagement in Health Research
A Journal of General Internal Medicine Special Supplement
This April 2022 JGIM supplement reflects the shared goals of PCORI and the Veteran Administration's (VA) Health Services Research and Development to assess what we have learned about engagement in research and inform a larger strategy to continue developing the science of engagement.
These articles also demonstrate the substantial commitments both PCORI and the VA have made in catalyzing engagement in research.
All articles are available free of charge on the JGIM website.
View the full collection of articles | Read the related blog post
Veterans Health Study Spotlights
Engaging Veteran Communities in PCOR across the United States
Learn how this PCORI Engagement Award is bringing together veterans and those connected to the military in regional meetings across the United States, engaging and including veterans' voices to prioritize PTSD-related topics that will inform a patient-centered outcomes research (PCOR) agenda.
Helping Make Veterans Research More Patient-Centered
As the country pauses this week to honor our nation’s veterans, learn how PCORI’s resources are helping teams at the Denver VA Medical Center and Boston VA Research Institute make their research with former service members more patient-centered.
Veterans and Families Drive Meaningful Research
Through the Eugene Washington PCORI Engagement Awards, veterans and their families participated in driving research on health issues that mattered to them, ranging from posttraumatic stress disorder to familial interpersonal strain. PCORI stakeholders listened to veterans and their families, built the tools to support their engagement, and developed a network to sustain this support.
Screening and Diagnosing Sleep Apnea in People with Traumatic Brain Injury
People who have a traumatic brain injury, or TBI, often have sleep apnea, which can make TBI symptoms worse and recovery difficult. In this study, the research team is comparing different ways of diagnosing sleep apnea in patients being treated for TBI. The project uses two types of diagnostic tools—portable equipment used at the patient’s bedside and equipment monitored by a technician while the patient sleeps in a lab. The team is trying to determine how to improve screening of patients at high risk for apnea to improve TBI care outcomes.
Comparing Risks and Benefits of Second-Line Medicines for PTSD
Posttraumatic stress disorder is the most common mental illness among veterans. People with PTSD have a higher risk of long-term physical illness, problems in social situations, and even death compared to those without PTSD. PCORI-funded researchers in California are reviewing the medical records of veterans with PTSD to gauge the benefits and risks of “second-line” medicines for PTSD—those that clinicians prescribe when drugs known to work best for most people are not effective.
Helping Veterans Manage Chronic Pain and Reduce Opioid Use
Many doctors prescribe opioids for people living with chronic pain, including veterans. But these drugs might not work as well as other pain management approaches and can have serious side effects and long-term risks. PCORI-funded researchers in Minnesota are working with patients who go to VA health facilities and have chronic pain even though they use opioids. The researchers are comparing different treatment options to see if they can help these patients control their pain while reducing their use of opioids.