The three primary social determinants of telehealth that the Telehealth Research and Innovation for Veterans with Cancer (THRIVE) investigators examine and our methods for measuring them include the following.

Race (as proxy for experience of structural racism or racial bias):

• veteran race category defined by the National Institutes of Health’s race and ethnicity reporting criteria
• veteran race and ethnicity information will be obtained from the VA’s Corporate Data Warehouse

Poverty:

• measured using Social Deprivation Index (SDI) at the census-tract level
• SDI linked to a patient’s zip code and measured in quarterly intervals

Rurality:

• derived from patient’s zip code at the time of cancer diagnosis
• describes individual veteran’s home rural status (urban, suburban, rural) from rural urban commuting area (RUCA) codes
• CDW-derived measure

Pilot Program

In partnership with several VA operational partners, including the Offices of Connected Care, Rural Health, Health Equity, and the National TeleOncology Program, the THRIVE team, which includes investigators from NYU Grossman School of Medicine, annually requests proposals for pilot studies that are focused on virtual care modalities for veterans with cancer, with specific interests in rural populations. Pilot studies can be at the facility, Veterans Integrated Services Networks (VISNs), or national level. They may be interventional or observational.

The opportunity to submit proposals for pilot studies is open to VA investigators and clinicians. Applicants may request up to $50,000 per fiscal year. Awards will be granted for one fiscal year, with the possibility of extension for two additional years. The application window for pilot projects has closed for fiscal year 2023. Please check back for the fiscal year 2024 proposal timeline and requirements.

Investigator Eligibility

Project teams must include at least one investigator who is currently funded by VA Offices of Health Services Research and Development Service (HSR&D), Rehabilitation Research and Development Service (RR&D), or Clinical Science Research and Development (CSR&D), and has meaningful scientific involvement in the proposed project. If the project lead is a fellow or other trainee, a mentor with current funding from HSR&D, RR&D, or CSR&D must serve as the principal investigator or as a multiple principal investigator.

Contact Us

Please contact THRIVE Center director Navid Dardashti at navid.dardashti@nyulangone.org with any questions about this funding opportunity.