• Bonnie M Vest, Jessica A Kulak, and Gregory G Homish.
• Department of Family Medicine, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, State University of New York- University at Buffalo, Buffalo, USA.
• Fam Pract. 2019 May 23; 36 (3): 343350343-350.

BackgroundNon-VA health care providers in the USA have been called upon to screen patients for veteran status as a means to better identify military-related health sequelae. Despite this recognized need, many service members are still not being asked about veteran status.ObjectiveThe purpose of this research was to qualitatively assess, from non-VA primary care providers' point-of-view, barriers to providing care to veterans, the training providers perceive as most useful and the tools and translational processes they think would be most valuable in increasing military cultural competency.MethodsSemi-structured qualitative interviews, with non-VA primary care providers (N = 10) as part of a larger quantitative study of primary care providers' attitudes around veteran care. Interviews asked about providers' approach to addressing veteran status in their practice and their thoughts on how to address the needs of this population. Qualitative data were analyzed using a thematic content analysis approach.ResultsThree major themes were identified: (i) barriers to caring for patients who are identified as veterans, (ii) thoughts on tools that might help better identify and screen veteran patients and (iii) thoughts on translating and implementing new care processes for veteran patients into everyday practice.ConclusionsOur study identified barriers related to non-VA providers' ability to care for veterans among their patients and possible mechanisms for improving recognition of veterans in civilian health care settings. There is a need for further research to understand how assessment, screening and follow up care for veteran patients is best implemented into civilian primary care settings.© The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

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