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in

VISN 16 Little Rock

HSR&D and QUERI Centers, projects, Career Development Awards, and highlighted publications in Little 

Rock include:

COIN (Center of Innovation): 

Center for Mental Healthcare and Outcomes Research (CeMHOR)

Director: Rick Owen, MD

CeMHOR's mission is to optimize outcomes for Veterans by conducting innovative research to 

improve access to and engagement in evidence-based mental health and substance use care.

CREATE (Collaborative Research to Enhance and Advance Transformation and Excellence): 

Improving Rural Veterans' Access/Engagement in Evidence-Based Mental Healthcare

Director: John Fortney, PhD

This CREATE seeks to inform VA policy-making and program development by increasing the 

knowledge base around access to and engagement in evidence-based mental health services 

delivered in CBOCs. Projects currently funded in this CREATE include:

• Development and Validation of a Perceived Access Measure – Jeffrey Pyne, MD

Projects to be funded in this CREATE include:

• Motivational Coaching to Enhance Mental Health Engagement in Rural Veterans – Karen Seal, 

MD, MPH (housed in San Francisco)

• Adapting and Implementing the Blended Collaborative Care Model in CBOCs – John Fortney, 

PhD

• A Computer-Assisted Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Tool to Enhance Fidelity in CBOCs – 

Geoffrey Curran, PhD

QUERI (Quality Enhancement Research Initiative): 

Mental Health QUERI Center

Director: JoAnn Kirchner, MD 

Clinical Coordinator: Kathy Henderson, MD

Implementation Research Coordinators: Jeff Smith, PhD (c); Mona Ritchie, PhD (c) 

Mental Health QUERI's mission is to improve quality of care, outcomes, and health-related quality 

of life for Veterans with mental health conditions by promoting research to close gaps in 

knowledge and implementing evidence-based practice within the Veterans Health Administration 

and beyond.

Currently Funded Projects at Little Rock

• Variation in Implementation of the Partners in Care (PIC) Program – Angie Waliski, PhD

• Enhancing Delivery of Problem Solving Therapy Using SmartPhone Technology – Kathleen Grubbs, 

PhD 

• Get Moving and Get Well: A Behavioral Activation Program for Veterans with SMI – Kristen 

Viverito, PsyD
VA Office of Research & Development • Health Services Research & Development Service

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• A Rapid Ethnography of Mental Health Integration Under PACT Implementation – Karen 

Drummond, PhD

• Monitoring and Management for Metabolic Effects of Antipsychotics – Richard Owen, MD

• Tailoring Interventions for Rural Veterans: What We Need to Know – Ellen Fischer, PhD

Current Career Development Awardees

• Michael Cucciare, PhD – Implementing Evidence-Based Mental Health Practices in Primary Care

Highlighted Publications

• Study Highlights Importance of Parenting Interventions for Veterans’ and their Children’s Health

Pemberton J, Kramer T, Borrego J, and Owen R. Kids at the VA? A Call for Evidence-Based Parenting Interventions for 

Returning Veterans. Psychological Services May 2013;10(2):194-202. 

• Study Suggests Providers’ Endorsement of Stigma Regarding Mental Illness Related to Patient 

Treatment Options

Corrigan P, Mittal D, Reaves C, Haynes T, Han X, Morris S, and Sullivan G. Mental Health Stigma and Primary Health Care 

Decisions. Psychiatry Research. April 28, 2014;e-pub ahead of print.

• Waliski A, Blevins D, Spencer HJ, Roca JV, Kirchner JE. Family relationships, mental health, and injury among OEF/OIF 

Veterans post deployment. Military Behavioral Health. 2013 Oct 1; 1(2):100-106. 

• Owen RR, Drummond KL, Viverito KM, Marchant K, Pope SK, Smith JL, Landes RD. Monitoring and managing metabolic 

effects of antipsychotics: a cluster randomized trial of an intervention combining evidence-based quality improvement 

and external facilitation. Implementation Science. 2013 Oct 8; 8(1):120.

• Waliski A, Kirchner JE, Shue VM, Bokony PA. Psychological traumas of war: training school counselors as home-front 

responders. The Journal of rural health : official journal of the American Rural Health Association and the National Rural 

Health Care Association. 2013 Dec 10; 28(4):348-55. 

Search the full list of citations from the Little Rock Center at

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VA Office of Research & Development • Health Services Research & Development Service

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in

VISN 16 Houston 

HSR&D and QUERI Centers, projects, Career Development Awards, and highlighted publications in 

Houston include:

COIN (Center of Innovation): 

Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness, and Safety (IQuESt)

Director: Laura Petersen, MD, MPH

The IQuESt mission is to improve the quality, effectiveness, and safety of healthcare through 

patient-centered communication and coordination.

CREATE (Collaborative Research to Enhance and Advance Transformation and Excellence): 

Improving Quality and Safety through Better Communication in PACTs

Director: Laura Petersen, MD, MPH

The goal of projects funded within this CREATE is to study the development and implementation 

of point-of-care interventions in PACT that improve healthcare quality and safety. Projects 

currently funded in this CREATE include:

• Identifying and Delivering Point-of-Care Information to Improve Care Coordination – Laura 

Petersen, MD, MPH 

• Automated Point-of-Care Surveillance of Outpatient Delays in Cancer Diagnosis – Hardeep 

Singh, MD, MPH 

• Automating Heart Failure Data for Patient Treatment Goals at the Point-of-Care – Jennifer 

Garvin, PhD, MBA (housed in Salt Lake City)

• Point-of-care Health Literacy and Activation Information to Improve Diabetes Care – 

LeChauncy D. Woodard, MD, MPH 

Currently Funded Projects at Houston

• Developing an Intervention to Retain HIV-infected Veterans in HIV Care – Thomas Giordano, MD, 

MPH

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Primary Care: Treating the Medically Ill – Jeffrey Cully, PhD, MEd

• Hepatitis C Translating Initiatives for Depression into Solutions – Fasiha Kanwal, MD, MBBS

• Formative Evaluation of Veteran-Centered Post-Surgical Discharge Intervention – Aanand Naik, 

MD

• Preventing Aggression in Veterans with Dementia – Mark Kunik, MD, MPH

• Behavioral Activation Therapy for Rural Veterans with Diabetes and Depression – Aanand Naik, 

MD

• Value of Delivery of Targeted Therapy for Veterans with Advanced Lung Cancer – Teresa Hayes, 

MD, PhD

• Use of Predictive Modeling to Improve Operating Room Scheduling Efficiency – Panagiotis Kougias 

MD

• Care for Women Veterans with Hepatitis C Virus Infection – Fasiha Kanwal, MD, MBBS

• Linking Clinician Interaction and Coordination to Clinical Performance in VA PACT – Sylvia Hysong, 

PhD 
VA Office of Research & Development • Health Services Research & Development Service

www.hsrd.research.va.gov

Current Career Development Awardees

• Salim Virani, MD – Attaining Optimal Non-HDL Cholesterol Levels to Improve Cardiac Outcomes

Highlighted Publications

• Study Examines Patient Safety Issues in VA Outpatient Setting

Giardina T, King B, Ignaczak A, Paull D, Hoeksema L, Mills P, Neily J, and Singh H. Root Cause Analysis Reports Help 

Identify Common Factors in Delayed Diagnosis and Treatment of Outpatients. Health Affairs August 2013;32(8):1368-75.

• Study Assesses VA/Alzheimer’s Association Care Coordination Program for Informal Caregivers 

of Veterans with Dementia

Bass D, Judge K, Snow A, Wilson N...and Kunik M. Caregiver Outcomes of Partners in Dementia Care: Impact of a Care 

Coordination Program for Veterans with Dementia and their Family Members and Friends. Journal of the American 

Geriatrics Society August 2013;61(8):1377-86.

• Individual Financial Incentives for VA Providers Result in Better Hypertension Treatment than 

Audit and Feedback Alone

Petersen LA, Simpson K, Pietz K, Urech TH, Hysong S, Profit J, Conrad D, Dudley RA, and Woodard LD. Effects of 

Individual Physician-Level and Practice-Level Financial Incentives on Hypertension Care: A Randomized Trial. JAMA 

September 11, 2013;310(10):1042-50.

• Veterans with Non-Specific Anxiety Diagnosis Less Likely to Access Mental Healthcare than 

Veterans with Specific Anxiety Disorders

Barrera T, Mott J, Hundt N, et al. Diagnostic Specificity and Mental Health Service Utilization among Veterans with 

Newly Diagnosed Anxiety Disorders. General Hospital Psychiatry October 22, 2013;e-pub ahead of print.

• Study Examines Relationship between Diagnostic Accuracy and Confidence Using Case Study 

Vignettes

Meyer AND, Payne VL, Meeks DW, Rao R, and Singh H. Physicians’ Diagnostic Accuracy, Confidence, and Resource 

Requests: A Vignette Study. JAMA Internal Medicine November 25, 2013;173(21):1952-58.

• Increase in Psychotherapy Since 2004 Corresponds with VA’s Efforts to Improve Access to Mental 

Health

Mott JM, Hundt NE, Sansgiry S, Mignogna J, Cully J. Changes in Psychotherapy Utilization among Veterans with 

Depression, Anxiety, and PTSD. Psychiatric Services January 1, 2014;65(1):106-112.

• Hepatitis C Virus Genotype 3 Associated with Increased Risk of Cirrhosis and Hepatocellular 

Cancer among Veterans

Kanwal F, Kramer J, Ilyas J, Duan Z, and El-Serag H. HCV Genotype 3 is Associated with an Increased Risk of Cirrhosis and 

Hepatocellular Cancer in a National Sample of U.S. Veterans with HCV. Hepatology February 24, 2014;e-pub ahead of 

print.

• Study Shows Benefits for Veterans with Dementia who Participate in VA Program Integrating 

Healthcare and Community Services

Bass D, Judge K, Snow A, Wilson N, et al, and Kunik M. A Controlled Trial of “Partners in Dementia Care:” Veteran 

Outcomes after Six and Twelve Months. Alzheimer’s Research & Therapy February 28, 2014;6(1):9.

Search the full list of citations from the Houston Center at

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