# REhabilitation Promoting Prevention And Improved Resilience (REPPAIR)

> **NIH VA I50** · VA BOSTON HEALTH CARE SYSTEM · 2021 · —

## Abstract

To optimize the function and independence of Veterans, it is critical to develop proactive treatments that
ameliorate and prevent disability and the resulting loss of quality of life and high cost health care associated
with the progression of chronic disease. 1 Ideally, these preventative treatments should be designed to target
Veterans at greatest risk and be personalized to their needs. This is critical for the VA since the mean age of
Veterans is 64 years and Veterans manifest greater impairment and functional limitations than their age-
matched civilian counterparts. 2,3 Aspects of personalization include a focus on impairments linked to not only
physical but cognitive function; and acknowledging that critical steps to preventative care include a focus on
behavior change of the patient. 1 Treatments promoting long term success commonly emphasize these
approaches. Rehabilitative care can play a leading role in this model of secondary preventative care. 4
Preventative rehabilitative care is known as prehabilitation. 5 This term traditionally refers to preventative pre-
surgical care and less frequently focuses on prevention and amelioration of disability among Veterans with
chronic disease. However, there is a tremendous unmet need to develop prehabilitative care treatments that
maximize the functional capacity of aging veterans and thereby extend quality of life as well as prevent
disability and excessive health care utilization. The Prehabilitation Center (PreHC) REAP will prioritize the
development of Prehabilitative Care strategies optimizing functioning among Veterans at risk for functional
decline and disability. Through the leadership of three organizational cores and the combination of qualifying
studies and pilot studies, the PreHC will develop a single data repository supporting three programmatic
research aims: 1) It will test the efficacy of novel therapeutic approaches on three important prehabilitative
outcomes (i.e., 3M’s): cognitive function (Mind); physical function (Mobility) and successful behavioral change
(Motivation); 2) It will identify biologic subtypes and phenotypes that mediate treatment response; 3) It will
confirm and validate these relationships using the large data resource derived from our collective studies and
through linkage with data from VA national databases. Our center will advance VA clinical research and
prehabilitative care by providing core resources and training for investigators of all levels. Under the leadership
of the Project Director (Dr. Bean), three operational cores will be created: 1) a Leadership, Capacity and
Advancement Core that will include the administrative leadership of the REAP and oversee all training and
education activities sponsored by PreHC, including administration of the pilot grant program for trainees and
junior faculty; 2) a Scientific Discovery Core that will provide state of the art assessment of neurocognitive
function (mind), physical function (mobility) and measures o...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9994582
- **Project number:** 1I50RX003430-01
- **Recipient organization:** VA BOSTON HEALTH CARE SYSTEM
- **Principal Investigator:** JONATHAN F BEAN
- **Activity code:** I50 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-10-01 → 2025-09-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9994582

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9994582, REhabilitation Promoting Prevention And Improved Resilience (REPPAIR) (1I50RX003430-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9994582. Licensed CC0.

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