The Veterans Excellence in the Cancer CAre Continuum REsearch (VETCARE) Center of Innovation focuses on the study of cancer care and chronic disease management.
VA efforts to deliver high quality, excellent care have led to improvements in cancer care and reductions in differences in access to and processes of care; yet, differences still persist in health outcomes, requiring novel strategies to overcome them. VETCARE investigators work to advance the science of healthcare delivery and help VA ensure excellent outcomes for all Veterans.
By directly addressing VA’s research priority of health excellence and addressing social determinants of health, VETCARE research projects seek to comprehensively develop, test, and implement interventions that address cancer care health outcome differences among Veterans by increasing our ability to collaboratively address VA healthcare and research priorities, advance health systems research across the cancer continuum of care (e.g., prevention, treatment, survivorship), obtain more research funding through VA grants, train more health services researchers, and engage Veterans throughout the research process.
VETCARE’s overall goals are to:
Test strategies to support the adoption and use of promising interventions to optimize excellence in healthcare across the continuum of VA cancer care.
Develop and test strategies and interventions to improve the prevention and outcomes of other chronic conditions and foster healthy behaviors across the continuum of VA cancer care for all Veterans.
Promote research to optimize delivery of remote cancer care across VA.
In addition to our focus on excellence in cancer health outcomes for all Veterans, VETCARE investigators bring deep expertise in clinical care and research around aging, hearing loss, and mental health. Our studies will explore the full spectrum of population health—from population-level studies addressing primary care and mental health to chronic disease management focused on Veterans with the greatest healthcare needs.
VETCARE staff maintain strong partnerships with the VA National Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention and the VA Office of Connected Care; serve on VA New York Harbor Healthcare System's Institutional Review Board and Research & Development Committees; and contribute to national enterprise efforts with the VA Office of Research and Development, and the VA Office of Healthcare Innovation and Learning.
