Expanding Access to Comprehensive Geriatric Evaluation via Telehealth: Development of Hybrid-Virtual Home Visits.

BACKGROUND: In response to the aging population, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) seeks to expand access to evidence-based practices which support community-dwelling older persons such as the Geriatric Resources for Assessment and Care of Elders (GRACE) program. GRACE is a multidisciplinary care model which provides home-based geriatric evaluation and management for older Veterans residing within a 20-mile drive radius from the hospital. We sought to expand the geographic reach of VA-GRACE by developing a hybrid-virtual home visit (TeleGRACE). OBJECTIVES: The objectives were to: (1) describe challenges encountered and solutions implemented during the iterative, pre-implementation program development process; and (2) illustrate potential successes of the program with two case examples. DESIGN: Quality improvement project with longitudinal qualitative data collection. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: The hybrid-virtual home visit involved a telehealth technician travelling to patients' homes and connecting virtually to VA-GRACE team members who participated remotely. APPROACH & PARTICIPANTS: We collected multiple data streams throughout program development: TeleGRACE staff periodic reflections, fieldnotes, and team meeting notes; and VA-GRACE team member interviews. KEY RESULTS: The five program domains that required attention and problem-solving were: telehealth connectivity and equipment, virtual physical examination, protocols and procedures, staff training, and team integration. For each domain, we describe several challenges and solutions. An example from the virtual physical examination domain: several iterations were required to identify the combination of telehealth stethoscope with dedicated headphones that allowed remote nurse practitioners to hear heart and lung sounds. The two cases illustrate how this hybrid-virtual home visit model provided care for patients who would not otherwise have received timely healthcare services. CONCLUSIONS: These results provide a blueprint to translate an in-person home-based geriatrics program into a hybrid-virtual model and support the feasibility of using hybrid-virtual home visits to expand access to comprehensive geriatric evaluation and ongoing care for high-risk, community-dwelling older persons who reside geographically distant from the primary VA facility.

Telehealth Engaged Music for Pain Outcomes: A Music and Imagery Proof-of-concept Study with Veterans.

Music therapy interventions target biopsychosocial outcomes and are a non-pharmacological option for integrated pain management. To date, most music and pain studies have focused on acute pain, passive music experiences, and in-person delivery. The purpose of this study was to examine feasibility and acceptability and determine proof-of-concept for a newly developed telehealth music imagery (MI) intervention for Veterans with chronic pain. A single-group proof-of-concept pilot study was conducted with Veterans with chronic pain (n = 8). Feasibility was assessed through examination of recruitment, retention, and session/measure completion rates; acceptability through participant interviews; and whether the intervention resulted in clinically meaningful change scores (pre- to post-intervention) on measures of pain, anxiety, and depression at the individual level. For Veterans who passed eligibility screening, we had an enrollment rate of 89%, with good retention (75%). Overall, participating Veterans found the intervention acceptable, identified specific challenges with technology, and recommended an increased number of sessions. Preliminary outcome data for pain, anxiety, and depression were mixed, with some Veterans reporting clinically meaningful improvements and others reporting no change or worsening symptoms. Findings informed modifications to the telehealth MI intervention and the design of a larger pilot randomized controlled trial to assess feasibility and acceptability of the modified intervention in a larger population of Veterans with chronic pain using additional measures and a control condition.

Headache Specialists' Perceptions of the Role of Health Psychologists in Headache Management: A Qualitative Study.

Background Since headache specialists cannot treat all the patients with headache disorders, multidisciplinary teams that include health psychologists are becoming more prevalent. Health psychologists mainly use a form of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), along with biofeedback on occasion, to effectively address patients' pain and headache disorders. The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is one setting that routinely includes a health psychologist with advanced training in pain disorders in their pain care to its veterans. The VHA has established Headache Centers of Excellence (HCoE) around the country to provide multidisciplinary treatment for patients with headache disorders, which enables headache specialists to regularly interact with health psychologists. Objective The study's objective is to evaluate headache specialists' views of health psychologists in the treatment of patients with headache disorders. Method Semi-structured interviews were conducted with headache specialists in academic-based healthcare settings, the community, and VHA HCoE sites. The interviews were audio-recorded and de-identified so they could be transcribed and analyzed using content matrix analysis. Results Four themes emerged: headache specialists desired to work with health psychologists and included them as members of multidisciplinary teams; valued health psychologists because they provided non-pharmacological treatments, such as CBT and biofeedback; preferred in-person communication with health psychologists; and used multiple titles when referring to health psychologists. Conclusion Headache specialists valued health psychologists as providers of behavioral and non-pharmacological treatments and considered them essential members of multidisciplinary teams. Headache specialists should strive to work with a headache psychologist, not just a general health psychologist. By committing to this, headache specialists can foster changes in the quality of care, resource allocation, and training experiences related to health psychologists.

Coming back for more: factors linked to higher participation among Veterans with chronic pain in an innovative VA-YMCA wellness clinic.

In 2019, the Indianapolis VA developed a Wellness Clinic in partnership with the Young Men's Christian Associations (YMCA) to comprehensively address Veterans' chronic pain. Our specific aims were twofold: (1) to evaluate the implementation of the Veterans Health Indiana (VHI) Wellness Clinic on patient utilisation and (2) to evaluate patient functioning.We conducted a mixed-methods evaluation, which included the extraction of VA administrative data to identify a patient cohort; the conduct of chart review to extract clinic utilisation, clinical outcomes collected during pain-related healthcare services and comorbidities; and semistructured interviews with Veteran patients who used the VHI Wellness Clinic in different patterns to identify challenges and facilitators to clinic utilisation. We applied configurational analysis to a Veteran sample who had their first visit to the VHI Wellness Clinic in March/April 2019 to pinpoint difference-making factors linked to Veterans' successful participation.The cohort included 312 Veterans (83% male), mean age of 55.4 years. The configurational model included six factors: participation in physical therapy, pain psychology or pain education sessions (22%); presence of any 'no-shows' (57% had 0); history of depression (39%) and clinic referral source (51% self-referred from primary care). The model consisted of four different pathways to successful participation, explaining 60% of cases in the higher-participation group with 86% consistency. Patient outcomes after clinic utilisation demonstrated a significant reduction in self-reported pain and pain catastrophising across time. Moreover, patients reported distance to clinic as both a facilitator and challenge.This mixed-methods analysis identified specific biopsychosocial factors and clinical services directly linked to higher Veteran participation in a new VA-YMCA Wellness Clinic. The VHI Wellness Clinic embedded within a YMCA facility is a feasible and efficacious healthcare delivery model for primary care patients experiencing chronic pain. Additional marketing to clinical providers for referrals and to patients to extend its reach is needed.

A stepped wedge cluster randomized trial to evaluate the effectiveness of a multisite family caregiver skills training program.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effects of an evidence-based family caregiver training program (implementation of Helping Invested Families Improve Veteran Experiences Study [iHI-FIVES]) in the Veterans Affairs healthcare system on Veteran days not at home and family caregiver well-being. DATA SOURCES AND STUDY SETTING: Participants included Veterans referred to home- and community-based services with an identified caregiver across 8 medical centers and confirmed family caregivers of eligible Veterans. STUDY DESIGN: In a stepped wedge cluster randomized trial, sites were randomized to a 6-month time interval for starting iHI-FIVES and received standardized implementation support. The primary outcome, number of Veteran "days not at home," and secondary outcomes, changes over 3 months in measures of caregiver well-being, were compared between pre- and post-iHI-FIVES intervals using generalized linear models including covariates. DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS: Patient data were extracted from the electronic health record. Caregiver data were collected from 2 telephone-based surveys. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Overall, n = 898 eligible Veterans were identified across pre-iHI-FIVES (n = 327) and post-iHI-FIVES intervals (n = 571). Just under one fifth (17%) of Veterans in post-iHI-FIVES intervals had a caregiver enroll in iHI-FIVES. Veteran and caregiver demographics in pre-iHI-FIVES intervals were similar to those in post-iHI-FIVES intervals. In adjusted models, the estimated rate of days not at home over 6-months was 42% lower (rate ratio = 0.58 [95% confidence interval: 0.31-1.09; p = 0.09]) post-iHI-FIVES compared with pre-iHI-FIVES. The estimated mean days not at home over a 6-month period was 13.0 days pre-iHI-FIVES and 7.5 post-iHI-FIVES. There were no differences between pre- and post-iHI-FIVES in change over 3 months in caregiver well-being measures. CONCLUSIONS: Reducing days not at home is consistent with effectiveness because more time at home increases quality of life. In this study, after adjusting for Veteran characteristics, we did not find evidence that implementation of a caregiver training program yielded a reduction in Veteran's days not at home.