CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
To a Special Supplement to JGIM: Veterans' Access to Care
This special issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine (JGIM), sponsored by VA’s Health Services Research and Development Service (HSR&D) and Veterans Access Research Consortium (VARC), will focus on healthcare access research within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). Established in 2020, VARC was tasked with identifying research and operational priorities around access. VARC identified five high priority domains via a Delphi panel of research and operational experts and Veteran stakeholder input. The three domains in the table below were selected as highest priority and refined with input from VHA access researchers and key operational partners.
For this special issue, we encourage submissions addressing one or more of the following high-priority access research domains within the Veterans Health Administration.
Measurement of Access: Measurement of actual and perceived access so it is understandable, uses the best possible data, and has meaningful implications for Veteran outcomes, both in VHA and the community. Example topics include, but are not limited to, novel access metrics that fill a gap in the current Access Metric Compendium, metrics related to social determinants of health that impact access, access-related quality metrics (e.g., Veteran satisfaction, care coordination, equity).
Equity and Subpopulations: Ensuring equitable and effective access to services for Veterans who are underrepresented or experience disparities in the VHA. Example topics include, but are not limited to, reasons for access inequities, barriers to access for those who are historically disenfranchised, measurement of inequities in access across Veteran subgroups, and interventions to target access disparities in subpopulations.
Effective Interventions to Improve Access: Effective and scalable interventions that improve access, considering different modalities (in-person, virtual care), settings (e.g., VHA vs community care), and targets (e.g., patients, providers, system). Examples include, but are not limited to, interventions to overcome system-level barriers to access, alignment between patient needs and access interventions, interventions to support prioritizing care to patients with greatest need.
Please submit your proposed paper abstracts to https://www.editorialmanager.com/jgim/default1.aspx by Monday, June 20th, 2022. The abstract should be no longer than 1 page and should contain the following information:
- Name and VA affiliation of lead author and of planned co-authors
- Name and funding source of study (e.g., HSR&D or operational partner, study name and PI), if applicable. If a clinical trial please include ClinicalTrials.gov identifier.
- Which access research domain(s)will be addressed (measurement, equity/subpopulations, and/or effective interventions).
- Article type planned (Original Research, Research and Reporting Methods, Concise Research Report, Reviews, Perspectives, or Viewpoints)
- A description of the topic to be covered in the planned manuscript. The description should include, as applicable: (1) Background/Objective, (2) Methods (e.g., Design, Participants, Interventions, Data Sources, Main Measures, Analytical Approach), (3) Key Results, (4) Discussion/Conclusion.
- For Perspectives or Viewpoints, please provide a brief description of the opinion or novel perspective related to access you plan to write about and describe how the roles/backgrounds of the authors inform that perspective or viewpoint.
Those invited to submit a full manuscript for review will be notified by Thursday, June 30th, 2022.
Full manuscripts will be due to JGIM by Friday, September 30th, 2022. Submissions should follow the JGIM Instruction for Authors. All submissions will then undergo anonymous peer review prior to acceptance for the special issue.
Guest Editors: Peter Kaboli, MD, MS and Stephanie Shimada, PhD
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