Engaging Stakeholders in Identifying Access Research Priorities for the Department of Veterans Affairs

Abstract

Abstract Background The Veterans Access Research Consortium (VARC), a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Consortium of Research focused on access to healthcare, has been funded by VA’s Health Services Research and Development Service (HSR&D) to develop a research roadmap for healthcare access. The goal of the roadmap is to identify operationally aligned research questions that are most likely to lead to meaningful improvements in Veterans’ healthcare access. Objectives To describe the process of soliciting diverse stakeholder perspectives about key priorities on which VA’s HSR&D access agenda should focus and identify the results of that process. Methods We used a modified Delphi approach to engage researchers and VA operational partners in a process to develop recommendations regarding the access-related research questions VA should prioritize. We then collaborated with three Veteran Engagement Groups (VEGs) across the country to solicit Veterans’ reactions to the Delphi results and their perspectives about access-related issues affecting access to VA health care. Results The Delphi panel consisted of 22 research and operational experts, both internal and external to VA. The Delphi process resulted in five research questions identified by the panelists as highest priority for VA to pursue, each representing one of the following domains: (1) measurement of access, (2) barriers to access, (3) equity and subpopulations, (4) effective interventions to improve access, and (5) consequences of poor/better access. Veterans’ perspectives focused primarily on the barriers to access domain. Veterans indicated several barriers that might be addressed through research or operational initiatives, including poor communication about services, weak connections to and partnerships with local community care facilities, and poor provision of telehealth resources and education. Conclusions Engaging multiple methods to solicit stakeholder perspectives enables more nuanced understanding of access-related priorities for VA. Future research should consider utilizing such an approach to identify additional research and/or operational priorities.