2025/01/27 by Kelly Su, Medha Romee Maitra, Amanda Peeples +8 · 1 voice
Health Professions · Social Sciences · #Geriatric Care and Nursing Homes #Health disparities and outcomes #Homelessness and Social Issues
paper · doi:10.1093/geront/gnaf018
openalex publication_date 2025/01/27 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The Housing and Urban Development-Veterans Affairs Supported Housing (HUD-VASH) program provides rental subsidies, case management, and supportive services to Veterans who are currently or formerly homeless, 77% of whom are aged ≥50. Few interventions have been developed to address the needs of older Veterans in HUD-VASH. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We conducted a 2-stage study to inform the development of an intervention to promote aging in place in HUD-VASH. First, we completed qualitative interviews with 21 older Veterans in HUD-VASH and focus groups with 13 staff members to identify unmet needs for supporting aging in place. Second, we used a modified Delphi process with 9 staff and 1 Veteran to prioritize 66 intervention elements based on perceived feasibility and importance. RESULTS: We identified 4 main themes: need for services to support aging in place, expanding the HUD-VASH workforce, focus on home delivery, and importance of trust. The top-rated intervention elements spanned 5 categories: (1) staffing (by social workers, primary care providers, nurses, home health aides); (2) focus (on geriatric needs, mental health needs, dementia care, medication management); (3) modality (in the home or medical center); (4) timing (delivery of the intervention when Veterans have functional impairment, memory impairment, mental health problems, trouble caring for themselves, or are new to HUD-VASH); and (5) duration (regularly scheduled or ongoing as needed). DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Veterans and staff members identified key intervention elements which can help inform Veterans Affairs (VA) efforts to develop and implement interventions to enhance aging in place in HUD-VASH.