Benefits and challenges in the use of RE-AIM for evaluation of a national social work staffing program in the veterans health administration

Abstract

BackgroundIn the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Veterans Health Administration (VHA), social workers embedded in primary care teams address social and emotional needs that are associated with health outcomes. The mission of the National Social Work PACT Staffing Program is to improve access to social work services for rural Veterans by supporting additional social work staffing in VA medical centers serving rural areas.MethodsWe obtained data from the VA corporate data warehouse on Veterans’ characteristics and health care use from 2016 to 2022 for all Veterans who received primary care at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) or associated clinic that received funding from the program. We evaluated the program according to RE-AIM constructs as follows: Reach [total number of Veterans who engaged with PACT social work and representativeness with regard to race, rural residence, chronic conditions and health behaviors, and hospital and emergency department (ED) use in the previous 12 months]; Effectiveness (impact of the program on key health care use outcomes which include hospitalizations, emergency department visits, and palliative care); Adoption (number of VA medical centers and outpatient clinics serving rural Veterans that have participated in the program, and number and representativeness of sites eligible for program participation that have not yet received funding); Implementation (adherence to standardized note templates), and Maintenance (permanent social work positions created by the program and continued technical support).ResultsIn 2022, the program engaged with 30,982 Veterans, 65% of whom lived in rural areas. The program increased social work encounters, reduce hospital and emergency department use, and increase use of palliative care services among Veterans. Key elements of implementation include proactive outreach to Veterans with high-risk indicators and assessment for social risk factors using standardized, national note templates. In terms of maintenance, the program continues to provide data and technical assistance to 23 sites and has created 171 permanent social work positions.Conclusions and implicationsThe Social Work PACT Staffing Program demonstrates positive outcomes and program sustainment. The RE-AIM framework was a useful tool to evaluate the program, but additional adaption was needed to fit the program’s needs.

RE-AIM for rural health innovations: perceptions of (mis) alignment between the RE-AIM framework and evaluation reporting in the Department of Veterans Affairs Enterprise-Wide Initiatives program

“…Finally, we conducted interviews during the first nine months of the COVID-19 pandemic, a time when EWIs dealt with unique implementation challenges that may have influenced their perceptions of RE-AIM. In recent years, some EWIs have published on their experiences with RE-AIM; these publications may address some of the limitations and gaps in our own work (26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36)(37)(38). Despite these limitations, we feel the unique context occupied by CEEWI and the EWI program makes it worth sharing these findings.…”