Implementation of peer specialist services in VA primary care: a cluster randomized trial on the impact of external facilitation.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Over 1100 veterans work in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) as peer specialists (PSs)-those with formal training who support other veterans with similar diagnoses. A White House Executive Action mandated the pilot reassignment of VHA PSs from their usual placement in mental health to 25 primary care Patient Aligned Care Teams (PACTs) in order to broaden the provision of wellness services that can address many chronic illnesses. An evaluation of this initiative was undertaken to assess the impact of outside assistance on the deployment of PSs in PACTs, as implementation support is often needed to prevent challenges commonly experienced when first deploying PSs in new settings.

Methods

This study was a cluster-randomized hybrid II effectiveness-implementatio

SUBMITTER: Chinman M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8183089 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature