As one veteran put it, “I don’t mind somebody calling and checking up on me because that’s letting me know that you care.” Participants were receptive to additional outreach for referral, reminders and motivational support in between visits. Participants generally appreciated existing efforts to provide care in between visits including post-discharge phone calls and reminder letters. Most participants had hypertension (78 %), and smoked at least 100 cigarettes in their lifetime (77 %). Participants had a mean age of 59 years, were predominantly African American (64 %), and completed at least some college (57 %) with 29 % reporting that they worked outside the home. RESULTS: A total of 1179 patients were invited, 127 were scheduled to attend, and 77 participated.
Two researchers independently coded each transcript, modified the codebook as new themes emerged, and met to reconcile coding. A subset of transcripts was reviewed independently by four researchers, who then created an initial consensus codebook.
Each focus group was audio recorded and transcribed, and supplemental field notes were taken. Discussion questions focused on facilitators and barriers to healthy behavior change, experience with proactive outreach, and preferences for receiving care in-between visits. Participants completed brief questionnaires to ascertain their health status and supplemental demographic information. We recruited eligible patients by mail and phone, who were invited to participate in focus groups stratified by hospital, gender (six male and four female groups), and age (under or over age 60).
METHODS: We conducted a qualitative study of veterans with hypertension or current smoking, who had participated in a cluster-randomized trial of panel management support in which Panel Management Assistants provided outreach and coaching to veterans. To address this gap and inform future implementation efforts, we conducted a qualitative study of veterans at two VA campuses. We know little about patients’ perspectives, experiences and preferences in receiving this type of non-face-to-face care. (Tracking ID #2198048)īACKGROUND: Medical home models, like VA’s Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) seek to engage patients via proactive outreach for prevention and chronic disease management (panel management). 1NYU School of Medicine, New York, NY 2VHA New York Harbor Healthcare System, New York, NY. Jensen 1, 2 Nicole Skursky 1 Erica Sedlander 1 Katherine Barboza 1 Katelyn Bennett 1, 2 Scott Sherman 2, 1 Mark D. “WE ALL HAVE DIFFERENT STORIES”: VETERANS’ EXPERIENCES AND PREFERENCES FOR PROACTIVE IN-BETWEEN VISIT CARE Ashley E.