HSR Special Issue Commemorates 25th Anniversary of QUERI
BACKGROUND:
Since its inception in 1998, VA’s Quality Enhancement Research Initiative (QUERI)—an operational evaluation and quality improvement program—has been instrumental in establishing VHA as a learning health system that uses an iterative process to identify operational priorities and related evidence gaps, featuring rapid and rigorous evaluation to address questions and communicate with operational stakeholders, with an ultimate goal of improving care access, quality, efficiency, and cost. The scope of QUERI projects has evolved from the implementation of guideline-based care for specific conditions to conducting system-wide quality improvement and implementation science to support evidence-based policymaking and rapid translation of research into practice. QUERI’s guiding principles are now being adopted by QUERI’s parent program, VA’s Health Systems Research (HSR) portfolio, with HSR priorities grounded in QUERI’s learning health system framework to establish evidence generation and evaluation priorities in alignment with VA’s Strategic Plan. This HSR-sponsored special issue of Health Services Research presents research articles and commentaries that highlight the scientific contributions and real-world impacts of QUERI during the past 25 years, and the evolution of QUERI as a learning health system. Articles include:
- Shannon et al. analyze data from VA’s Survey of Healthcare Experiences of Patients and identify racial disparities in access to VHA care, particularly among Veterans from traditionally underrepresented groups.
- Honken et al. demonstrate that a program in which funding was made available to hire social workers as members of primary care teams was associated with increased social work service use among rural Veterans.
- Jones et al. highlight the importance of collaboration and training in their evaluation of the implementation of healthcare navigator services for Veterans with unstable housing.
- Finley et al. emphasize the role of trust in forming effective partnerships with non-VA organizations to implement a suicide risk mitigation program.
- Cordasco et al. outline an iterative, structured approach to adapt and scale up a case management implementation strategy for unstably housed Veterans.
- Kaufman et al. compare the costs associated with two different methods of implementing a mobility improvement intervention among hospitalized older adults.
- Matthieu et al. describe congressionally mandated reports and the process for planning and executing evaluations so that they can effectively inform responses to the mandated reports and program or policy changes.
- Braganza et al. describe QUERI’s rapid response team mechanism—a novel infrastructure that allows investigators to address operations and policy needs in a timely manner.
Guest editors of this supplement were Melissa Garrido, PhD, of QUERI’s Partnered Evidence-based Policy Resource Center (PEPReC) and Amy Kilbourne, PhD, MPH, Executive Director of VA’s Health Systems Research (HSR).
Commemorating the 25th Anniversary of the Veterans Affairs Quality Enhancement Research Initiative and Evolution of Learning Health Systems. Health Services Research. December 2024;59 (Suppl 2).
