# Implementing a Clinical-Community Partnered Intervention to Address Food Insecurity Among High-Risk Veterans

> **NIH VA IK2** · PROVIDENCE VA  MEDICAL CENTER · 2022 · —

## Abstract

Background: Nearly 25% of Veterans are estimated to be food insecure (FI), experiencing limited or uncertain
access to nutritionally adequate and safe foods. FI has been associated with a wide range of adverse health
outcomes as well as increased healthcare costs and utilization. Concerningly, FI is frequently under-
recognized in clinical settings including VHA. Prior research has shown that clinicians and other care team
members often feel ill equipped to address FI even once identified. As such, there is a critical need to
determine how to most effectively connect FI Veterans with relevant services and community resources in
order to address Veteran FI and its downstream consequences.
Gaps Addressed (Knowledge and Practice): In October 2017 the VA launched a national FI clinical
reminder intended to screen all Veterans receiving care in the VHA. In the first 24 months of screening, the
reminder identified over 77,000 Veterans across the country that reported FI. Little is known, however, about
the variation in screening across VA sites; how sites respond when a Veteran screens positive for FI; or what
VHA practices following a positive screen best improve Veteran food security status, Veteran experiences of
care, and health outcomes. This proposed application would address these knowledge gaps.
Innovativeness: Although VHA has begun to address social determinants of health more broadly, efforts to
address FI are still in their nascency. This proposal, and the future area of research it will foster, is innovative
because it seeks to develop novel VA-community partnerships that address key social determinants of health
contributing to adverse health outcomes. This proposal further innovates through its emphasis on multi-level
stakeholder engagement including strong Veteran engagement, and seeking Veteran-centered approaches to
addressing food insecurity.
Specific Aims: My long-term career goal is to become national leader in developing, evaluating, and
implementing effective interventions to address Veteran FI and other social determinants of health. Through
this CDA-2 application, I will build upon my prior training in family medicine and health services research to
acquire advanced skills in implementation science, intervention design, and mixed methods evaluation. I
propose the following research aims: Aim 1: Examine variation across VA sites nationally in implementation of
the FI clinical reminder and characterize implementation experiences and community referral processes; Aim
2: Understand Veteran experiences of FI and their interactions with VA and community resources following a
positive FI screen; Aim 3: Develop and pilot test an intervention model to optimize screening and referral
processes for connecting FI Veterans to relevant VA and community resources.
Methodology: This proposal employs a multistage mixed methods framework with integrated analyses across
aims.
Next Steps: When completed, this proposed work will evaluate current ap...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10237185
- **Project number:** 5IK2HX003013-02
- **Recipient organization:** PROVIDENCE VA  MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Alicia Cohen
- **Activity code:** IK2 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-10-01 → 2025-09-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10237185

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10237185, Implementing a Clinical-Community Partnered Intervention to Address Food Insecurity Among High-Risk Veterans (5IK2HX003013-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10237185. Licensed CC0.

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