Addressing challenges and barriers to rural Veteran participation in clinical research within the Veterans Affairs healthcare system

The execution of clinical research in medical facilities that serve rural populations and/or that have lower care complexity levels has been proven to be challenging, as compared to larger healthcare institutions with higher complexity levels. Issues such as isolation, lack of organizational support...

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Main Authors: Marcus R. Johnson, Aliya Asghar, Danielle J. Beck, Tassos Kyriakides, Matthew P. Vincenti, Grant D. Huang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-06-01
Series:Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2451865425000407
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author Marcus R. Johnson
Aliya Asghar
Danielle J. Beck
Tassos Kyriakides
Matthew P. Vincenti
Grant D. Huang
author_facet Marcus R. Johnson
Aliya Asghar
Danielle J. Beck
Tassos Kyriakides
Matthew P. Vincenti
Grant D. Huang
author_sort Marcus R. Johnson
collection DOAJ
description The execution of clinical research in medical facilities that serve rural populations and/or that have lower care complexity levels has been proven to be challenging, as compared to larger healthcare institutions with higher complexity levels. Issues such as isolation, lack of organizational support and resources, difficulty with enrollment of study participants in rural settings, and challenges with identifying and retaining experienced clinical research staff serve as barriers to developing and establishing the necessary infrastructure to conduct clinical research at rural and/or smaller medical facilities. The United States (U.S.) Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) has the largest integrated health care system in the country and provides care to over 9 million Veterans. These considerations, combined with feedback collected from a subset of these types of (VA) Medical Centers (VAMCs) on this topic, demonstrate the need for a comprehensive enterprise-level strategy to address these challenges within the VA healthcare system. The VA Cooperative Studies Program (CSP) is a clinical research infrastructure that has vast expertise in the conduct of multi-site clinical research within the VA and is well poised to lead this effort.This manuscript describes the CSP “Advancing Capacity for Clinical Research through Engagement with Strategic Sites (ACCESS)” initiative. It focuses specifically on the successes, challenges, and lessons learned from the CSP ACCESS Workgroup (AW) during the development and implementation of a comprehensive pilot plan for engaging rural/lower complexity VAMCs (strategic sites) to participate in CSP clinical research.
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spelling doaj-art-2374e75f688b4c01a3f026f2dc3eb3e82025-08-20T03:25:05ZengElsevierContemporary Clinical Trials Communications2451-86542025-06-014510146610.1016/j.conctc.2025.101466Addressing challenges and barriers to rural Veteran participation in clinical research within the Veterans Affairs healthcare systemMarcus R. Johnson0Aliya Asghar1Danielle J. Beck2Tassos Kyriakides3Matthew P. Vincenti4Grant D. Huang5Durham VA Health Care System, United States of America; Corresponding author. Durham VA Health Care System, 508 Fulton Street (152), Durham, NC, 27705, United States of America.Long Beach NODES, VA Long Beach Health Care System, United States of AmericaSan Diego NODES, VA San Diego Health Care System, United States of AmericaWest Haven CSP Coordinating Center, VA Connecticut Healthcare System, United States of AmericaVeterans Rural Health Resource Center – White River Junction, VA White River Junction Healthcare System, United States of AmericaEnterprise Optimization, Office of Research and Development, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, United States of AmericaThe execution of clinical research in medical facilities that serve rural populations and/or that have lower care complexity levels has been proven to be challenging, as compared to larger healthcare institutions with higher complexity levels. Issues such as isolation, lack of organizational support and resources, difficulty with enrollment of study participants in rural settings, and challenges with identifying and retaining experienced clinical research staff serve as barriers to developing and establishing the necessary infrastructure to conduct clinical research at rural and/or smaller medical facilities. The United States (U.S.) Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) has the largest integrated health care system in the country and provides care to over 9 million Veterans. These considerations, combined with feedback collected from a subset of these types of (VA) Medical Centers (VAMCs) on this topic, demonstrate the need for a comprehensive enterprise-level strategy to address these challenges within the VA healthcare system. The VA Cooperative Studies Program (CSP) is a clinical research infrastructure that has vast expertise in the conduct of multi-site clinical research within the VA and is well poised to lead this effort.This manuscript describes the CSP “Advancing Capacity for Clinical Research through Engagement with Strategic Sites (ACCESS)” initiative. It focuses specifically on the successes, challenges, and lessons learned from the CSP ACCESS Workgroup (AW) during the development and implementation of a comprehensive pilot plan for engaging rural/lower complexity VAMCs (strategic sites) to participate in CSP clinical research.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2451865425000407Department of Veterans AffairsCSPNODESRural VeteransClinical trial enrollment
spellingShingle Marcus R. Johnson
Aliya Asghar
Danielle J. Beck
Tassos Kyriakides
Matthew P. Vincenti
Grant D. Huang
Addressing challenges and barriers to rural Veteran participation in clinical research within the Veterans Affairs healthcare system
Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications
Department of Veterans Affairs
CSP
NODES
Rural Veterans
Clinical trial enrollment
title Addressing challenges and barriers to rural Veteran participation in clinical research within the Veterans Affairs healthcare system
title_full Addressing challenges and barriers to rural Veteran participation in clinical research within the Veterans Affairs healthcare system
title_fullStr Addressing challenges and barriers to rural Veteran participation in clinical research within the Veterans Affairs healthcare system
title_full_unstemmed Addressing challenges and barriers to rural Veteran participation in clinical research within the Veterans Affairs healthcare system
title_short Addressing challenges and barriers to rural Veteran participation in clinical research within the Veterans Affairs healthcare system
title_sort addressing challenges and barriers to rural veteran participation in clinical research within the veterans affairs healthcare system
topic Department of Veterans Affairs
CSP
NODES
Rural Veterans
Clinical trial enrollment
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2451865425000407
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