Triangle of Healthy Caregiving for Spinal Cord-Injured Veterans
Abstract
Rationale and Objective for the Proposed Work: Spinal cord injury (SCI) is among the most devastating and disabling medical conditions affecting wounded members of the military. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare system is the single largest SCI healthcare provider in the nation. There are approximately 44,000 SCI Veterans receiving health care at VA facilities. In spite of the presence of a caregiver, accessing SCI specialty care may be further challenged with development of complexities evident in chronic SCI, the effects of aging, transportation costs, or the distance to the VA hospital or outpatient services; therefore, methods to facilitate improved access are very crucial. VA virtual health services use technology and health informatics to provide Veterans with better access and more effective care management. For people with SCI, particular attention has been paid to using phone contact and video monitoring for the prevention and management of secondary conditions at the VA. For example, the VA New Jersey Health Care System (VANJHCS) SCI healthcare team (HCT) has successfully implemented Veteran-centered care for the SCI/D population that views Veterans and their caregivers as one system that works in partnership with the HCT. Through this partnership described as ?The Triangle of Healthy Caregiving,? the HCT incorporates the use of virtual care technologies in their delivery of primary care and specialty services directly to the Veteran and/or caregiver based on clinical needs that have been identified. The proposed project will qualitatively assess SCI Veterans?, their caregivers? and VA healthcare team?s perspectives and experiences in the ?Triangle of Healthy Caregiving for SCI Veterans? to determine the benefits, challenges, and outcomes for everyone involved in the intervention. Types of Individuals the Project Will Help and How It Will Help Them: This project will help all key players involved in the virtual healthcare program: SCI Veterans, caregivers, SCI clinicians as well as VA policymakers. The researchers and clinical team will have a better understanding of aspects of the program that work well for SCI Veterans and caregivers as well as aspects that need improvement. The project will also help virtual SCI clinicians to better understand any barriers that are associated with the provision of health care via the virtual care system and ways to manage their clinical relationship with SCI Veterans and their caregivers. The results validate the intended use of VA virtual care system, which can be helpful to VA policymakers as they continue to invest in improving the effectiveness of virtual care as a way for all Veterans to gain access to health care. The research team will prepare a summary of consumer-informed recommendations for the ?Triangle of Healthy Caregiving for SCI Veterans? for the VA National Office of Telehealth and the national SCI/D Systems of Care office. Potential Applications, Benefits, and Risks: Understanding what works and what doesn?t work in the ?Triangle of Healthy Caregiving for SCI Veterans? is important for several reasons. First, given the high cost of living with an SCI, the provision of comprehensive virtual health care can assist with cost of care, medications, assistive devices, and psychosocial support in the homes in an efficient manner. Second, the outcomes of the study may identify aspects of the ?Triangle of Healthy Caregiving for SCI Veterans? that need to be improved that the VANJHCS healthcare team will need to address. A risk is that the project findings may not be able to solve all of the problems associated with the provision of comprehensive health care in the ?Triangle of Healthy Caregiving for SCI Veterans,? so the research team will seek additional funding to explore this further across other VA SCI Centers. Projected Timeline for Achieving the Desired Outcome: The project should take 3 years to evaluate all aspects of
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Aug 07, 2017
- Source ID
- W81XWH1710262
Entities
People
- Carol Gibson-gill
Organizations
- United States Army
- Veterans Biomedical Research Institute