Gulf War 1 Veteran Healthcare Satisfaction

Gulf War 1 Veteran Patient Satisfaction With VA Primary Care: A Survey Study.

The purpose of this study is to investigate Gulf War 1 Veteran (GW1V) patient perceptions of, and satisfaction with, their VA primary care treatment, and physician effectiveness in delivering improved point of service, in the Primary Care Clinics at the Veterans Administration (VA) Salt Lake City Health Care System.

Study Overview

• Status: Withdrawn
• Conditions: Persian Gulf War Syndrome in Veteran
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Provider Education Workshop

Detailed Description

Veterans of the 1990-1991 Gulf War1 (GW1) conflict are still experiencing a host of adverse health conditions at the present time. Many GW1 Veterans are still unhappy with their health care at the VA, and other stakeholders are critical of how the VA has dealt with GW1 Veterans' issues. For these reasons, the Gulf War Veterans' Illness Task Force (GWVI-TF) was set up to find ways to improve the situation.

The present survey study addresses one of GWVI-TF's missions, that is, to identify gaps in VA services, and to discover opportunities to better serve GW1V. Caring for GW1V is a top priority for VA health care providers, which is all the more pressing for the following reasons: 1. medical science of Gulf War Illness and environmental exposures is still at its infancy, 2. most providers have not received any focused education about how to take care of GW1V and the unique medical problems these veterans face, 3. a lack of provider knowledge that GW1V may receive may lead to decreased satisfaction on the part of GW1V and may result in GW1V perceived health service quality that is compromised.

In this pilot study, we focus on #2 and #3, to determine how we may understand veterans' perceptions of their medical treatment to ultimately improve GW1V medical health outcomes.

• Study Type: Observational

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Utah
    • Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, 84108
      • University of Utah
    • Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, 84148
      • VA SLC Health Care System

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 38 years to 80 years (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Persian Gulf War Veterans who are currently treated by a primary care physician at the VASLCHCS Blue Clinic and West Valley Clinic.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• a gulf war Veteran who served during the Persian Gulf War (GW1) of 1990-1991
• currently treated by a primary care physician at the VASLCHCS

Exclusion Criteria:

• cannot read and write English

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

1

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
Gulf War 1 Veterans; Persian Gulf War 1 Veterans (GW1V) who are currently treated by a primary care physician at the VA Salt Lake City Health Care System. GW1V will assess their primary care satisfaction before and after their providers receive a Provider Education Workshop.	Behavioral: Provider Education Workshop; Educational resources for physicians regarding the needs of GW1V patients.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Client Satisfaction score	The Client Satisfaction Questionnaire will be used to measure change in client satisfaction at baseline and after providers have received Provider Education Workshop training	baseline and 3 months
Change in Patient Satisfaction score	The Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire will be used to measure change in patient satisfaction at baseline and after providers have received Provider Education Workshop training	baseline and 3 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Physician Assessment of GW1V Care	The Physician Survey will be used to measure change in physician assessment of GW1V care at baseline and after providers have received Provider Education Workshop training.	Baseline and 3 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Utah
• Collaborators: VA Salt Lake City Health Care System
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Gavin West, MD, VA Salt Lake City Health Care System

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: October 1, 2014
• Primary Completion (ANTICIPATED): July 1, 2015
• Study Completion (ANTICIPATED): October 1, 2015

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: October 5, 2012
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 5, 2012
• First Posted (ESTIMATE): October 10, 2012

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (ESTIMATE): August 11, 2016
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 10, 2016
• Last Verified: August 1, 2016

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: patient satisfaction; Gulf War 1 Veteran; Desert Storm Veteran
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Occupational Diseases; Persian Gulf Syndrome
• Other Study ID Numbers: IRB_00053707