Whole Health

More on Whole Health implementation throughout VA's health care system, a study on VA Health Coaches and Peer Specialists, Trauma Sensitive Yoga and much more.

A pilot study was conducted to explore the impact of a peer-led group-based program that teaches Veterans to become empowered to engage in their own health and well-being through mindful awareness practices, self-care strategies, and setting life goals.

This paper provides an overview of the Whole Health System of care in VHA and applicability in addressing employee resiliency a brief history of employee well-being efforts in VHA, new priorities from VHA leadership as they relate to Employee Whole Health strategy and implementation, a summary of the impacts of WHS of care delivery on employees.

This study collected preliminary evidence on the efficacy of Taking Charge of My Life and Health (TCMLH), a Whole Health group-based program that emphasizes self-care and empowerment on the overall health and well-being of veterans, a population burdened with high rates of multiple chronic conditions.

This study involved research to understand staff perspectives on the feasibility, challenges, and advantages of conducting Taking Charge of My Life and Health (TCMLH) groups virtually.

This evaluation examines patterns of Whole Health services use among Veterans with chronic pain, comparing those with and without posttraumatic stress disorder.

This study describes how a partnered evaluation of the Whole Health (WH) system of care—comprised of the WH pathway, clinical care, and well-being programs—produced patient outcomes findings, which informed Veterans Health Administration policy and system change.

This study was conducted to identify the advantages and disadvantages of battlefield acupuncture from providers’ perspectives.

This analysis examines subsequent use of traditional acupuncture after undergoing battlefield acupuncture.

This study examined the association of participation in complementary and integrative health with Veterans’ patient-reported outcomes over time.

VHA initiated a demonstration program in 18 VA Medical Centers to implement its Whole Health System. This report describes the program's impact on Veterans.

This study describes the development of the Observational Whole Health Measure for evaluating the extent to which primary care providers in the Veterans Health Administration engaged in patient-centered care in the context of a holistic approach to care known as "Whole Health."

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has been promoting patient-centered care through the implementation of a Whole Health approach.

This study involved conducting focus groups with 31 patients enrolled in movement-based therapy classes (qigong and yoga) designed for patients with chronic illness at two large VA medical centers between April and May 2014.

This case study examined the adoption of personalized care planning in patient-centered medical home clinics to identify processes and organizational characteristics that facilitated or hindered use in routine practice.

A new scale, the PC2:NaPS, measures patients’ experiences of primary care.

This study involved secondary data analysis of a national survey to evaluate utilization and perceived effectiveness of mindfulness relative to other complementary and integrative health approaches among military veterans.

Using a large national convenience sample of veterans who regularly use the VHA, researchers conducted the first national survey of veterans’ interest in, frequency of and reasons for use of, and satisfaction with 26 complementary and integrative health approaches.

This project involved searching nine electronic databases, dually-screening all reviews, and consulting topic experts to identify systematic reviews on mindfulness interventions.

This analysis synthesizes the strength of the evidence for four types of complementary and integrative therapies on pain: acupuncture, therapeutic massage, mindfulness techniques, and tai chi.

This report evaluates a large-scale, research-operations partnered effort to understand the challenges faced by VA sites and the strategies used to address these to better support VA's implementation of complementary and integrative health nationally.

This article examines reasons for the disconnect between the goals of patient-centered care, the goals of providers and patients, and actual communication in clinical encounters.

A pilot study was conducted to develop and psychometrically assess a scale measuring nurses' and other providers' patient-centered care in Veteran Affairs primary care clinics.

This research identified the challenges providers experience in implementing battlefield acupuncture and successful strategies used to overcome these challenges.

This study examined the use and effectiveness of battlefield acupuncture for back pain and four pain-comorbid conditions in group and individual sessions at a large Veterans Affairs medical center.

This paper discusses the issues that arose using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research to qualitatively assess the factors influencing implementation of cultural transformation.

This study was conducted to understand key organizational factors for implementing patient-centered care cultural transformation through an examination of efforts in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

The objectives of this analysis were to understand why patients and health care team members exchange secure messages and examine the socioemotional tone engendered in these messages.

This is the first study to examine the relationships between patients’ perceptions of provider communication, pain intensity and self-efficacy for managing chronic disease.

This project was conducted to determine what information providers and patients most wanted to learn about complementary and integrative health therapies and their preferred format for receiving this information.

This article highlights the important cultural challenges faced in the implementation of personalized care planning.

This evidence map describes the volume and focus of tai chi research reporting health outcomes.

Narrative medicine (specifically My Life, My Story) is a tool for us to understand the patient's prior experiences and gain insight into the person that is sitting in front of us today.

This project studied the efforts of four Veterans Affairs medical centers to engage patients and families in patient-centered care transformation.