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Congratulations to the two recipients of the 2024 HSR Health System Impact Award: Barbara Bokhour, PhD, Co-Director of HSR’s Center for Health Optimization and Implementation Research (CHOIR) and leader of the Center for Evaluating Patient-Centered Care (EPCC); and Jennifer Martin, PhD, an HSR Research Career Scientist with the Center for the Study of Healthcare Innovation, Implementation and Policy (CSHIIP) and Associate Director for Clinical and Health Services Research in the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System’s Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center (GRECC). The Health System Impact Award honors outstanding HSR-and QUERI-funded research that has had a direct and important impact on clinical practice or clinical policy in VA healthcare.
Barbara Bokhour, PhD
Dr. Bokhour’s science-driven research and evaluations of Whole Health interventions for VA priority conditions such as chronic pain, PTSD, and opioid use in Veterans have played an essential role in VA’s transformation to a healthcare system that is patient-centered and grounded in what matters most to Veterans. The work of EPCC—a QUERI center that Dr. Bokhour conceptualized and founded more than a decade ago—has contributed critical research and evaluation findings related to Whole Health, and EPCC’s partnership with VA’s Office of Patient-Centered Care and Cultural Transformation (OPCC&CT) has influenced VA decision making and funding for Whole Health at local, regional, and national levels. Dr. Bokhour’s work with her team of investigators across VA has been cited in Congressional reports; aided the development of metrics to measure Whole Health use and outcomes; demonstrated the value of complementary and integrative health services; and has made a clear case for further development and spread of Whole Health for all Veterans. Her dedication and leadership are also advancing Whole Health in private institutions, as evidenced by a National Academies for Science, Engineering and Medicine report on Whole Health that cited many EPCC studies and white papers and included recommendations for scaling VA’s Whole Health system of care.
Jennifer Martin, PhD
Dr. Martin’s seminal research on sleep disorders in Veterans—especially her focus on novel approaches to treating insomnia—has had substantive impact at the local, regional, and national levels of VA and beyond. She has worked with multiple operational partners, including the National Sleep Medicine Program, the Behavioral Sleep Medicine Field Advisory Board, the Office of Mental Health, and the National Center for PTSD, and has helped improve Veterans’ access to sleep medicine care through telehealth services. Her work contributed to the National Sleep Medicine Program’s dissemination of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia to VA providers, and she has provided critical new insights on sleep disorders in women Veterans, including a critical care gap regarding diagnosis and treatment of sleep apnea. Dr. Martin wrote one of the most frequently cited review articles on wearable technology in sleep research and sleep medicine, and helped develop a practical guide for its use. She has also generously served as a mentor to sleep medicine and psychology trainees, contributed to the development of VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guidelines for sleep disorders that will evolve into standards and quality benchmarks, and has helped advance sleep-focused public health initiatives within and outside of VA.
HSR is grateful to Drs. Bokhour and Martin for their valuable research, dedication, and continuing contributions toward improving the VA healthcare system and the care we provide for our Veterans.
HSR also thanks the Health System Impact Award nominees for their important work that improves the VA healthcare system and Veteran care:
