Research Newsletter March 2019
Monthly Chat with Research Director Jack Tsai, PhD
Hi, I’m excited to be officially on board with the National Center as the new Research Director. I’ve got a lot of new ideas and plans to move the Center forward as it continues to do the work it has been doing for almost a decade. If you haven’t heard, I’m also very happy that we have a new Director for the Center, Dina Hooshyar, MD whom I know and look forward to working with closely.
What are some of key priorities for the Center?
I’ve conceptualized four key priorities for the Center that I hope will guide the research agenda: Population-based studies, Physical and Mental Health, Functioning and Flourishing, and Program Evaluation. I think it’s important that the Center remains a key source in providing population-level data on the numbers and characteristics of homeless Veterans nationally as well as its function to evaluate VA’s homeless programs. But I’d also like the Center to develop, test, and scale effective interventions that address not only homelessness but optimize health and functioning.
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Center Research Priority Areas
What research communications/dissemination plans do you have?
Yes, with the assistance of Nora Hunt-Johnson and Kandarp Mehta at the Center, we are developing new communication methods to disseminate the latest research from our investigators and affiliate investigators. We want to reach various audiences including not only VA researchers but Veterans and the public at-large. For one, we are planning to provide regular e-newsletters such as this one to highlight ongoing work and activities. We are also exploring new audiovisual formats including short videos or audio clips of researchers and Veterans. So please stay tuned and we always welcome your suggestions and support.
The Center welcomes 11 new Research Affiliates
There are currently over 30 researchers affiliated with the Center investigating a wide breadth of issues related to Veteran homelessness, including 11 new investigators:
Rebecca Brown, MD| Eric Elbogen, PhD| Justeen Hyde, PhD| Theddeus Iheanacho, MD James LePage, PhD | Richard Nelson, PhD | Elizabeth Santa Ana, PhD | Cathy St. Pierre, PhD| Steven Shirk, PhD | Christine Timko, PhD | Jillian Weber, PhD, RN
If you are interested in becoming an Affiliate Investigator, please contact the Center’s research coordinator Kandarp.Mehta2@va.gov to learn more.
Recent journal articles from Center Research Affiliates
Center researchers and affiliates published several articles on issues of Veteran homelessness during the first and second quarters of FY 2019. Featured below are findings from Researcher Director Jack Tsai's study with Xing Cao, Association between suicide attempts and homelessness in a population-based sample of US Veterans and non-Veterans, published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, January 2019.
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Brignone, E., Fargo, J. D., Blais, R. K., & Gundlapalli, A. V. (2018). Applying Machine Learning to Linked Administrative and Clinical Data to Enhance the Detection of Homelessness among Vulnerable Veterans. In AMIA Annual Symposium Proceedings (Vol. 2018, p. 305). American Medical Informatics Association.
Gabrielian, S., Hamilton, A. B., Gelberg, L., Koosis, E. R., Johnson, A., & Young, A. S. (2019). Identifying Social Skills That Support Housing Attainment and Retention Among Homeless Persons With Serious Mental Illness. Psychiatric Services.
Jones, A.L., Hausmann, L.R., Kertesz, S.G., Suo, Y., Cashy, J.P., Mor, M.K., Pettey, W.B., Schaefer Jr, J.H., Gordon, A.J. and Gundlapalli, A.V. (2019). Providing Positive Primary Care Experiences for Homeless Veterans Through Tailored Medical Homes: The Veterans Health Administration’s Homeless Patient Aligned Care Teams. Medical Care.
McCall, J., Tsai., J., & Gordon, A. J. (2018). Veterans treatment court research: Participant characteristics, outcomes, and gaps in the literature. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency.
Montgomery, A. E., Gabrielian, S., Cusack, M. C., Austin, E. L., Kertesz, S. G., & Vazzano, J. K. (2018). Applying the Housing First approach to single-site permanent supportive housing. Journal of Social Distress and the Homeless. doi:10.1080/10530789.2018.1546796
Montgomery, A. E., Szymkowiak, D., Cusack, M. C., Austin, E. L., Vazzano, J. K., Kertesz, S. G., & Gabrielian, S. (2019). Veterans’ assignment to single-site versus scattered-site permanent supportive housing. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry.
Yu, B., Montgomery, A. E., True, J. G., Cusack, M. C., Sorrentino, A. E., Chhabra, M., & Dichter, M. E. (2018). The intersection of interpersonal violence and housing instability: Perspectives from women Veterans. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry.
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