VA Cooperative Studies Program (CSP)
Products
CSPEAR efforts are captured in five different products.
Fact sheets
Fact sheets characterize the frequency, distribution, treatment patterns, and clinical characteristics of priority health conditions among VA health care users.
Intended audiences: VHA, ORD, and CSP leadership, VA researchers, VA clinicians
Intended uses: All audiences can use fact sheets to monitor, understand, and address the most imperative conditions affecting VA health care users, leadership can use them to advance their research agenda and priorities, and researchers can use them to identify priority research topics to pursue.
Information briefs
Information briefs summarize existing VA electronic health record (EHR) data on VA health care users to address specific epidemiologic objectives or questions.
Intended audiences: VHA, ORD, and CSP leadership, VA researchers, VA clinicians
Intended use: All audiences clinicians can use these information briefs to learn more about VA health care users, as captured in the VA EHR.
Data summary reports
Data summary reports provide a rapid response to requests for information from VHA, ORD, and CSP leadership.
Intended audiences: VHA, ORD, and CSP leadership
Intended use: Leadership may use these reports to support internal planning and decision-making activities.
VA Phenomics Library Wiki pages
These pages build VA researchers’ capacity to identify VA health care users with clinical or demographic characteristics using VA EHR data, and to align research and clinical definitions of health conditions.
Intended audiences: VA researchers, VA clinicians
Intended use: Researchers and clinicians may use the wiki pages as a starting point when developing methods to identify patient subgroups using VA EHR data. These pages will include documentation on the methods, procedures, and analyses performed to develop CSPEAR products.
Manuscripts
Manuscripts share methodology for effectively conducting surveillance using VA EHR data and on the descriptive epidemiology of health conditions affecting Veterans.
Intended audiences: VA researchers, scientific community interested in studying VA health care users
Intended use: All audiences can use this information to refine their understanding of the burden of diseases affecting Veterans and the methods for using VA EHR data for routine disease surveillance.
Publication requirements
The publication and presentation of findings in CSPEAR’s products comply with applicable VA and CSP publication requirements. CSPEAR products only present de-identified, aggregate data. All CSPEAR products include proper acknowledgement of VA support as well as a recommended citation to ensure they are appropriately acknowledged and publicly disclosed.
- Fact sheets are distributed through CSPEAR’s website and the VA Phenomics Library intranet site.
- Summary reports are shared with the CSP Director, who distributes to VA stakeholders as appropriate.
- Manuscripts submitted to peer-reviewed journals are documented as non-research by CSP Central Office prior to publication.
