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Research News
June 17, 2008
VA HSR&D Research Highlights from the AcademyHealth Meeting
Over 70 VA HSR&D researchers shared their most current study findings in the form of posters and academic sessions at the 25th AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting recently held in Washington, D.C. Academy Health is the premier membership organization for health services researchers, policy analysts, and practitioners, and focuses on putting relevant information into the hands of both public and private health care leaders.
There were 7 sessions devoted exclusively to VA and DoD research findings and for the first time, this year's meeting included military and veteran's health as one of its central themes.
Among the VA presentation highlights:
- an in-depth consideration of the relationship between the future of genomic medicine and the unique VHA population, with an emphasis on the connection between genetic markers and many of the common chronic conditions with which our veterans must cope
- a policy roundtable discussion focused on the near- and long-term implications of OEF/OIF veterans' needs for quality, access, and coverage as they return to civilian life
- the value and impact of the
Evidence Synthesis Program (ESP) and how ESP can provide a springboard for larger scale policy changes
- updates on military sexual trauma, women's health, and geriatric health
In addition, VA health services researcher Ashish Jha, MD, MPH, was the recipient of the Alice M. Hersh New Investigator Award for his work on quality efforts and racial disparities in care at VA. Dr. Jha is a staff physician at the Boston VA Medical Center and a faculty member at the Harvard School of Public Health. In his acceptance speech Dr. Jha spoke about the transformation VHA has made in healthcare delivery over the past 12 years and noted that VA "…has used lessons from health services research to identify areas of need, lessons from health services research to craft policies, and has used health services research to evaluate the impact of the reforms."
He went on to say, "In 12 short years, quality has gone up, costs stayed stable, safety has gotten better, and I think it is not an exaggeration to say there are tens of thousands of veterans who are alive today because care was improved based on health services research that researchers engaged in."
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