3DI: Purpose

• Veterans Health
• 3DI Impact Goals
• Areas of Research
• National VA Partners

Veterans Health

Half of Veterans who get VA primary care struggle with health-impairing behaviors like substance use, disordered eating, or sleep difficulty. One out of four Veterans engages in more than one of these behaviors. These behaviors can affect daily functioning, health, and well-being. They can also result in more visits to emergency departments and hospitals, and increase mortality and suicide risk. Veterans with these health-impairing behaviors are up to four times more likely to die than those without them.

3DI brings together researchers and operational partners to improve Veteran health and well-being through research that promotes positive lifestyle change and aligns with VA Health Systems Research priorities.

3DI Impact Goals

3DI Focus: Encouraging Positive Lifestyle Change to Improve Veteran Well-being

• Impact Goal 1: To use data science approaches and targeted screening methods to improve identification of Veterans with health-impairing behaviors.
• Impact Goal 2: To identify practices (e.g., direct referral pathways, technology-assisted motivational interviewing) that improve engagement in evidence-based care and promote positive behavior change, especially among underserved Veterans.
• Impact Goal 3: To develop, test, and implement innovative models of evidence-based care that promote positive health-related behavior change.

3DI core investigators pursue research focused on reducing disparities in mental healthcare; enhancing suicide prevention efforts; identifying gaps in care related to substance use treatment; improving the quality, safety, and value of care; and improving comprehensive chronic pain management and opioid reduction.

Areas of Research

Our investigators operate across multiple Health Systems Research domains and have expertise in all cross-cutting HSR areas.

• Aging
• AI and Machine Learning
• Alcohol Use
• Cancer Care
• Cannabis Use
• Cardiovascular Health
• Complementary Integrative Health
• Mental Health
• Chronic Pain
• Disordered Eating
• PTSD
• Moral Injury
• Sleep Disorders
• Suicide Prevention
• Tobacco Cessation
• Virtual Care Delivery
• Women’s Health

National VA Partners

• VA Office of Substance Use Disorders
• VA National Program for Health Behavior
• VA National Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention (NPC)
• VA Tobacco Use Treatment Program
• VA Office of Patient Centered Care and Cultural Transformation
• VA Informatics and Computing Infrastructure
• VA Office of Rural Health (ORH)
• VA Office of Connected Care (OCC)
• National Center for Lung Cancer Screening (NCLCS)
• National Oncology Program

Questions about the HSR website? Email the Web Team

Any health information on this website is strictly for informational purposes and is not intended as medical advice. It should not be used to diagnose or treat any condition.