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 Fall 2025
(Pre-decisional)
Editor's Note: At the present time, we are limited in distribution to recipients with a “va.gov” email only. If you would like to add or update your email address, please let us know at VHAACCENTCORE@va.gov
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ACCENT is a nationwide network of VA researchers and operations partners, fostering collaboration and knowledge diffusion in the areas of Access and Community Care among VA investigators, VA Operational Partners, VISN and VA facility leadership, and VA Health Systems Research to support and inform national priorities for achieving high-quality and timely access to care. ACCENT extends the work initiated by the Community Care Research Evaluation and Knowledge (CREEK) Center and the Veterans Access Research Consortium (VARC).
View the recording of the ACCENT CORE Cyberseminar (held February 12, 2024) Introducing the Access and Community Care Engagement Network Team (ACCENT).
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Interested in receiving the quarterly ACCENT CORE newsletter? Email VHAACCENTCORE@va.gov
New research published or presented at a conference? Please let us know so we can share it with the community in our next newsletter. Email VHAACCENTCORE@va.gov
Email accent.data@va.gov if you have questions for the ACCENT data team.
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Check out the ACCENT CORE Website
Check out the ACCENT website, where you will find funded projects, recently published papers, minutes from monthly calls with the VA Office of Integrated Veteran Care (IVC), information about using community care data captured in the Consolidated Data Set and Program Integrity Tool, and information about current access- and community care-related programs and projects.
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ACCENT Project Inventory (API) Update!
We have an exciting update to the ACCENT project inventory (API). The updated API, available on the HSR website, now has the ability to search by ‘access’ or ‘community care’ search terms. With this updated feature, we have also updated the Metadata and User Guide.
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Update from the ACCENT Veteran & Caregiver Engagement Panel (VCEP)
The ACCENT VCEP met with several different investigators during FY25, providing input on newly funded projects and projects in development related to:
- Improving timeliness and ease of access in VA community care
- Improving Veteran Support Community clinical notes
- Improving rural Veterans’ options for specialty care
- Deploying digital technology to prevent suicide among Veterans
More from VCEP: see “Highlighting Current Research” below for Veteran experiences, and an upcoming cyberseminar on October 7th at 1pm EST!
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News from VA's Office of Research & Development
Please Welcome Liza Catucci as Acting HSR Director!
The Office of Research and Development's (ORD) Investigators, Scientific Review and Management is pleased to announce that effective September 1st Liza Catucci has been named Acting Director, Health Systems Research (HSR). Most of you know Liza who has been with the VA for many years and a member of our VA research enterprise since 2000. Liza joined ORD in 2014 when she came to us from the VA Boston Healthcare System (VABHS). At VABHS Liza oversaw the Clinical Science Research Portfolio which consisted of numerous externally funded studies as well as studies funded by ORD in Clinical Science, Rehabilitation Research, Health Systems (Services) Research and Cooperative Studies. She also was responsible for managing Institutional Review Board operations and served as Director of the Human Research Protection Program. Since joining ORD Liza has served as the Chief Operating Officer for HSR, Acting Director of ORD Operations, and most recently (since 2022) as Deputy Director for HSR. Throughout her time in the field and in ORD Liza has demonstrated her ability to lead programs and people/teams, to facilitate efficiencies, to adapt to changes as required to meet the missions of the VA and established herself as a role model for Servant Leadership. We look forward to working with Liza in her capacity as Acting Director, HSR and invite you to join us in welcoming her to her new role.
Highlighting Current Research
ACCENT Veteran & Caregiver Engagement Panel (VCEP): Veteran Experiences
On June 4, 2025, VCEP panel members participated in their first annual reflection, focusing on process improvement and their research engagement efforts to date. Panel members reflected on key activities and meetings that took place over the course of the fiscal year and offered suggestions for promoting greater engagement with investigators at different stages of the research process, from research question to design, to translating research findings into practice and enhancing the impact of their work.
Below are select quotes from the annual reflection meeting (recorded and shared with panel members’ permission), reflecting the meaning, value and impact of ACCENT VCEP participation on panel members.
- “I'm greatly appreciative to be able to be a part of [ACCENT VCEP]...I know that my voice and opinions are being heard...they're being considered when it's going to something like a future program or an initiative...specifically with access to community care, which is a big one for me…and just being able to see how it can be improved, how it is improving and what's changed over time, and just being able to be a part of that conversation, quite honestly, it’s what motivates me and that's why I wanted to be a part of this.”
- “I certainly appreciate the opportunity to give and provide input and critique if asked...[Our] lived experiences and our different perspectives as a cumulative group, I think, is really valuable for the researchers...I think that's what's been really rewarding and interesting to kind of see those different perspectives come together and be handed off in a meaningful way to hopefully make an impact in the future of these research studies.”
- “I'm liking the different types of projects we have gotten so far. It has been Veteran-centered, and I really do love the fact that caregivers are also involved because they're important in the family dynamic, to the military culture.”
“I think [involving Veterans] should be the future of research [in VA]…because it's so collaborative and it's so interactive and you get it directly from us, and I think that's really important. And then, just having like the support of my peers around me who can also bring another insight is also great.”
- “I'm really honestly enjoying hearing everybody's different perspectives. Like, it makes me think more about the challenges that some people have...challenges getting access to...things that I haven't had to think about, and I really enjoy hearing everybody's different ways that they are trying to access care.”
Editor's Note: Currently, all webinar content is available on the VA intranet only.
Upcoming Webinars
October 7, 2025 at 1pm EST
Sharing ACCENT VCEP Practices to Enhance Engagement among Researchers, Veterans and Caregivers
This session will provide an overview of the HSR Access and Community Care Engagement Network Team (ACCENT) Consortium of Research (CORE) Veteran and Caregiver Engagement Panel (VCEP) and its practices, highlighting the perspectives and personal experiences of its members and, more specifically, their thoughts on how to further promote Veteran and caregiver engagement in VA research. The session will be co-presented by ACCENT VCEP team members, including the VCEP liaison, facilitator, and two panel members.
To Register
In order to register or attend a session, you must have a "va.gov" email. To register for sessions, please copy and paste the following URL from your VA-intranet secure device: vaww.hsrd.research.va.gov/cyberseminars/catalog-upcoming.cfm
Past Recordings
For a comprehensive list of past sessions, visit the HSR Cyberseminar's Past Sessions page. You will need access to the VA intranet in order to view previously-held sessions. To view a session, select that session, and then copy and paste the VA intranet link into your VA-secure device browser.
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Calvert, C., Taylor, S. L., Olson, J., Coggeshall, S. S., Frochen, S., Zeliadt, S. B., Taylor, B. C., & Burgess, D. J. (2025). Complementary and Integrative Health therapies and pain: Delivery through Veterans Affairs and community care. Global Advances in Integrative Medicine and Health, 14, https://doi.org/10.1177/27536130251358757
Cohen, J. K., Zamora-Rogoski, K., McLean, C., Jacob, M., Stacker, T., Dancu, C., & Childers,
J. (2025). The Boost Team: transforming outreach for female veterans in rural communities.
Frontiers in Health Services, 5, 1617105. https://doi.org/10.3389/frhs.2025.1617105
Dawson, D. B., Johnson, B., Baig, M. U., Breland, J. Y., Chen, P., & Fletcher, T. L. (2025). African American patient perspectives on barriers and facilitators to tobacco-cessation treatment. Psychological Services, 22(3), 524–530. https://doi.org/10.1037/ser0000897
Dizon, M. P., Asch, S. M., & Wagner, T. H. (2025). Are Rates of Skin Procedures Higher in Veterans Health Administrations Purchased Care Than Veterans Health Administrations Delivered Care?. Medical Care, 63(8), 555–562. https://doi.org/10.1097/MLR.0000000000002151
Franklin, C. L., Raines, A. M., Ennis, C. R., Boffa, J. W., Bender, A. M., Ferrie, M. L., Nocera, T. R., Dornbach-Bender, A., Seidler, D. A., Slaton, K. D., O’Malley, L., Shapiro, M. O., & Laborde, G. (2025). Evaluating coordination and quality of care among veterans receiving posttraumatic stress disorder care in the community. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 70012. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.70012
Jaske, E., Wheat, C. L., McCann, R., Nelson, K., Wahlberg, L., & Felker, B. (2025). Associations between VHA Clinical Resource Hubs delivering telemental health services. Telemedicine Journal and E-Health:
The Official Journal of the American Telemedicine Association. https://doi.org/10.1177/15305627251376953
Ma, Y., Phelan, J., Orav, E. J., Frakt, A. B., Pizer, S. D., Garrido, M. M., Figueroa, J. F., & Tsai, T. C. (2025). Veterans may be seeing lower-quality clinicians in the VHA Community Care Network. Health Affairs (Project Hope), 44(1), 117–125. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2024.00900
Mog, A. C., Woolery, A., Fehling, K., Makkawi, M., O’Donnell, C. I., O’Brien, E., Hebert, P. L., Palen, B. N., Au, D. H., Arfons, L. M., Winchester, D., & Donovan, L. M. (2025).
Staff experiences with implementation of the referral coordination initiative. Health Services Research, e14654. https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6773.14654
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Rahim, F., Vanneman, M. E., Tuckett, S., Zickmund, S. L., Gordon, A. J., Jones, A. L., Nelson, R. E., & Schlechter, C. R. (2025). Veterans health system leader and clinician perspectives on expanding access to methadone treatment for opioid use disorder. Journal of Addiction Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1097/ADM.0000000000001585
Roberts, E. T., Sileanu, F. E., Li, Y., Anderson, T. S., Thorpe, C. T., Cashy, J., Suda, K. J., Radomski, T. R., Mor, M. K., Essien, U. R., Vanneman, M. E., Fine, M. J., & Gellad, W. F. (2025). VA-purchased community care and risk of potentially unsafe concurrent medication use among Veterans receiving opioids: A regression discontinuity analysis. Health Services Research, e70001. https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6773.70001
Robson Chase, M. E., Anderson, M. J., Stephens, W. A., Harris, A. M., & Newcomb, M. R. (2025). A quality improvement initiative designed to increase veteran choice and consult retention. Journal for Healthcare Quality: Official Publication of the National Association for Healthcare Quality. https://doi.org/10.1097/JHQ.0000000000000494
Rose L, Wagner TH. The Future of the VA—The Privatization Debate. JAMA Health Forum. 2025;6(9):e253183. doi:10.1001/jamahealthforum.2025.3183. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama-health-forum/fullarticle/2838805
Shapiro RH, Thompson R F, Elliott D A, Watson C N, & Fosmire H (2025). Community care radiation oncology cost calculations for a VA medical center. Federal Practitioner: For the Health Care Professionals of the VA, DoD, and PHS, 42(Suppl 2), S30–S39c. https://doi.org/10.12788/fp.0585
Syed, A. S., Wikiel, K. J., Cotton, J. L., & Jones, E. L. (2025). Quality of bariatric surgery at Veterans Affairs versus community care hospitals. Surgical Endoscopy. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00464-025-12148-8
Vanneman ME, Phibbs CS, Ong MK, Zhang Y, Chow A, & Yoon J. (2025). Veterans’ behavioral health hospitalizations and outcomes in VA versus non-VA hospitals. Health Services Research, e70013. https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6773.70013
Wu, J., Kanter, G. P., Wagner, T. H., Chu, D., Cashy, J. P., Prigge, J. M., Glorioso, T. J., Rahman, N., Murali, N., Giri, J., Nathan, A. S., Waldo, S. W., & Groeneveld, P. W. (2025). Impact of the MISSION Act on Quality and Outcomes of Major Cardiovascular Procedures Among Veterans. JAMA, 334(8), 702–713. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2025.11661
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