Identifying Areas of High Vulnerability for Rural Veteran Food Insecurity.

Introduction/objectives: Americans, including veterans, living in rural areas experience higher rates of food insecurity than the general population in the United States, but rural veteran food insecurity remains an understudied subject. Due to a lack of data on the subject, this project aimed to use geographic information systems (GIS) mapping of proxy variables for rural veteran food insecurity in order to identify areas of high vulnerability where future research could be targeted.

Methods: Key factors which may indicate vulnerability to rural veteran food insecurity were identified in a review of the literature.

"It's Really About Those Social Determinants of Health that Drive It": Addressing Food Insecurity in Rural Veterans.

Background: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employs numerous strategies to address food insecurity among rural veterans. This manuscript discusses findings from a quality improvement project examining factors impacting food insecurity among rural veterans.

Methods: Qualitative interviews were conducted with VA expert informants (n = 30) who worked in national program offices addressing veteran food insecurity, site visit participants (n = 57) at three VA Medical Centers (VAMCs), and rural veterans who screened positive for food insecurity at the VAMC sites (n = 10).

"Just Food doesn't Do It": Understanding Food Insecurity Among Rural Veterans in the United States.

Food security among rural veteran populations is an understudied subject. This study uses qualitative data from 106 semi-structured interviews conducted with staff from programs at the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and other federal agencies, staff from non-governmental organizations (NGOs), food security researchers, and food insecure veterans to identify the barriers to and facilitators for rural veteran food security. Barriers identified included external, structural barriers that exist in rural areas; internal barriers to using food assistance, such as feeling stigmatized; and barriers related to other social determinants of health, including a lack of education, employment, or housing stability.

The "State of Implementation" Progress Report (SIPREP): a pilot demonstration of a navigation system for implementation.

Background: Implementation of new clinical programs across diverse facilities in national healthcare systems like the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) can be extraordinarily complex. Implementation is a dynamic process, influenced heavily by local organizational context and the individual staff at each medical center. It is not always clear in the midst of implementation what issues are most important to whom or how to address them.

Alabama Veterans Rural Health Initiative: a pilot study of enhanced community outreach in rural areas.

Purpose: Access, enrollment, and engagement with primary and specialty health care services present significant challenges for rural populations worldwide. The Alabama Veterans Rural Health Initiative evaluated an innovative outreach intervention combining motivational interviewing, patient navigation, and health services education to promote utilization of the United States Veterans Administration Healthcare System (VA) by veterans who live in rural locations.

Methods: Community outreach workers completed the intervention and assessment, enrolling veterans from 31 counties in a southern state.