2024 | Track 1 | Geospatial Analysis and Optimization for Veterans’ Health Care Access in Pain Management
TRACK 1 SEED GRANT | Whole Health Consortium
Geospatial Analysis and Optimization for Veterans’ Health Care Access in Pain Management
TEAM:
- Dr. Junghwan Kim, Geography
- Dr. Mengxi Zhang, Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine
- Dr. Robert Hildebrand, Industrial and Systems Engineering
- Dr. Rena Courtney, Salem VA Health Care System
- Dr. Francis Cannizzo, Salem VA Health Care System
This project aims to enhance Veterans’ access to pain management services by examining where services are lacking and finding ways to close these gaps. Pain management is a significant need for Veterans—around 77% say it’s their top health priority, and untreated pain often leads to mental health issues like anxiety, depression, and addiction. By employing geospatial analysis, we will work on measuring multimodal accessibility, including the integration of telehealth, public transit, and private vehicles. By conducting interviews, we will capture Veterans’ lived experiences and identify perceived challenges, including transportation challenges, local resources, and personal lifestyle factors. Additionally, we will develop AI-based spatial optimization approaches to alleviatesocio-spatial inequalities in accessibility, offering practical insights for Veterans Affairs (VA)’s strategic facility planning. A multidisciplinary team, including a geographer, social epidemiologist, and engineer, will collaborate with our community partner, the Salem VA Health Care System, to find innovative solutions to improve Veterans’ access to pain management services, which will eventually improve Veterans’ health and well-being. By examining pain care access from a Whole Health perspective—considering multiple layers including environmental factors, social aspects like inequality, and individual lifestyle choices—we aim to create data-driven solutions that support Veterans’ health and well-being. This project will be a foundation toward scaling up to a national level for broader impact, with plans to build partnerships with state and federal VA systems.