# Increasing Veterans' Social Engagement and Connectedness (CONNECTED)

> **NIH VA I01** · RLR VA MEDICAL CENTER · 2024 · —

## Abstract

Background: Social isolation is a global public health threat and a negative social determinant of health
(SDoH) that affects 1 in 5 adults in the U.S. and contributes to $6.7 billion in annual healthcare spending.
Significance: Affecting roughly 43% of Veterans, social isolation is highly prevalent among Veterans,
particularly those with a history of mental illness. Social isolation contributes to cardiovascular diseases,
dementia, depression, suicidal ideation, and premature death. To date, social isolation remains largely
unaddressed as a negative SDoH in healthcare systems. Current efforts to address social isolation are limited
by lack of diverse participant samples, rigorous methodologies, and involvement of healthcare systems to
systematically assess and reduce social isolation.
Innovation and Impact: To address these gaps, the proposed project will test a novel and feasible program to
intervene on social isolation among diverse Veteran populations in the VHA healthcare system. We propose to
test the effects of the Increasing Veterans’ Social Engagement and Connectedness (CONNECTED)
intervention on social isolation among Veterans. CONNECTED uses an innovative approach by integrating two
existing evidence-based care models: peer services and patient navigation to address social isolation among
Veterans in VHA primary care clinics. CONNECTED involves three key services delivered by peer specialists
via telehealth over 8 weeks: 1) peer support, which includes person-centered assessment of factors driving
social isolation; 2) psychosocial interventions to address Veterans’ social isolation (e.g., goal setting,
supportive therapy, and group-based social engagement activities); and 3) navigation (i.e., connecting
Veterans to social resources in the community and the VHA) to help expand their social networks. Because
prior social isolation studies have not prioritized inclusion of younger and racially/ethnically diverse samples,
we will oversample these groups using stratified random sampling.
Specific Aims: We aim for a randomized controlled clinical trial comparing CONNECTED to an attention
control group. Aim1: Test the effects of CONNECTED on social isolation at 2-, 4-, and 8-months from baseline
compared to the control group; Aim2: Test the effects of CONNECTED on secondary, health-related
outcomes; and Aim 3: Conduct formative and pre-implementation evaluations to inform future implementation
processes.
Methodology: Aims 1 and 2 involve delivering the intervention to (N=264) Veterans in VHA primary care
clinics. Data from Aims 1 and 2 will be analyzed using general linear models. In Aim 3, we will describe
Veterans (n=20) and providers’ experiences (N=10) with the intervention using semi-structured interviews to
identify barriers and facilitators to CONNECTED’s future implementation. We will also survey peers and peer
supervisors (n=20) from VISN10 VA facilities (n=13) and interview a subgroup of survey completers (n=8) to
evaluate factors t...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10863703
- **Project number:** 1I01HX003741-01A2
- **Recipient organization:** RLR VA MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** JOHANNE ELIACIN
- **Activity code:** I01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-07-01 → 2028-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10863703

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10863703, Increasing Veterans' Social Engagement and Connectedness (CONNECTED) (1I01HX003741-01A2). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10863703. Licensed CC0.

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