# Quality of Mental Health Services for Homeless Veterans in Primary Care Settings

> **NIH VA IK2** · VA SALT LAKE CITY HEALTHCARE SYSTEM · 2021 · —

## Abstract

Background: My long-term goal is to become an independent VA health services researcher focused on
designing and testing integrated care solutions to improve mental health and substance abuse (MHSA) services
access, quality, and outcomes for vulnerable Veteran populations. This CDA-2 will provide me with the
necessary mentorship, skills, and experiences to evaluate, modify and implement organizational changes that
improve MHSA outcomes for vulnerable Veterans in primary care settings.
 Significance/Impact: Veterans who have been homeless have high rates of depression and opioid use
disorder and barriers to accessing traditional primary care services. It is important to determine effective models
of MHSA services integration at this time when Veterans have more options for care in VA and community
settings. VA’s homeless patient aligned care team (H-PACT) program, implemented in over 60 VA facilities,
offers a natural laboratory to determine optimal approaches of MHSA services integration to advance Veteran
health. My research will impact Veteran health by determining the effectiveness of H-PACT for providing high
quality MHSA care and mitigating adverse MHSA outcomes among homeless-experienced Veterans; and by
determining the unique and potentially modifiable aspects of H-PACT and other patient aligned care teams
(PACTs) that could be scaled to achieve superior MHSA outcomes for homeless-experienced Veterans in
specialized and non-specialized PACT settings. This research strongly aligns with VA research priorities of
mental health and primary care, and legislative priorities related to addiction recovery and community care.
 Innovation: While prior studies suggest H-PACT improves primary care utilization and Veteran experiences
with care, there is less research focused on determining what features of H-PACT are successful. We lack data
on clinical process measures and outcomes for Veterans empaneled in H-PACTs, information on aspects of
MHSA services integration that exists within H-PACTs and traditional PACTs caring for homeless-experienced
Veterans, and the barriers and facilitators that contribute to MHSA quality for homeless-experienced Veterans.
 Specific Aims: My CDA-2 has three primary aims: 1) Compare MHSA services quality of care (e.g., clinical
performance measures for depression, opioid use disorder) and outcomes (e.g., psychiatric hospitalization,
opioid-related overdose, suicide) for homeless-experienced Veterans empaneled in H-PACTs versus other
PACTs in the same facilities; 2) Measure levels and features of MHSA services integration (e.g., coordination
with community services, co-location of providers, full integration) for homeless-experienced Veterans in H-
PACTs and other PACTs; and 3) Evaluate MHSA service practices and barriers in 4 facilities ranked low and 4
ranked high on measures of MHSA services quality for homeless-experienced Veterans. I will work with my
mentors to develop the expertise to study MHSA services quality i...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10186664
- **Project number:** 1IK2HX003090-01A2
- **Recipient organization:** VA SALT LAKE CITY HEALTHCARE SYSTEM
- **Principal Investigator:** AUDREY L JONES
- **Activity code:** IK2 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-04-01 → 2026-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10186664

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10186664, Quality of Mental Health Services for Homeless Veterans in Primary Care Settings (1IK2HX003090-01A2). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10186664. Licensed CC0.

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