Journal of general internal medicine
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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. ⋯ 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.
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Engaging patients and other stakeholders as partners in research offers promise in improving the relevance and usefulness of research findings. ⋯ Findings provide insights for funders and institutions supporting engagement, measurement efforts, and clinical researchers aiming to conduct engaged research and observe similar influences and impacts in their own studies.
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Meaningful engagement of patients in health research has the potential to increase research impact and foster patient trust in healthcare. For the past decade, the Veterans Health Administration (VA) has invested in increasing Veteran engagement in research. ⋯ Participants expressed support for increasing women Veterans' engagement in women's health research and identified feasible ways to foster and implement engagement of women Veterans. Given the unique healthcare needs of women Veterans, engaging them in research could translate to improved care, especially for future generations. Knowledge about how to improve women Veterans' research engagement can inform future VA policy and practice for more meaningful interventions and infrastructure.