Research People and Projects

Official Title:

Rural Veterans with Depression and Parkinson's: A Telehealth Psychotherapy Solution

Project Background and Problem Statement: Depression is a highly prevalent and debilitating complication of Parkinson’s disease (PD) that is underdiagnosed and sub-optimally managed. The effective treatment of PD depression requires specialized interventions . PD-informed psychotherapies for depression developed by our group are tailored to patients’ unique needs and have demonstrated efficacy across 3 clinical trials. Rural Health Significance: Rural Veterans are disproportionately impacted by PD and system-wide shortfalls in PD-informed depression care. Purpose, Objectives and Planned Activity: The VA NJ Telehealth Hub will expand to deliver PD-informed, evidence-based psychotherapy for depression directly into the homes of rural Veterans with PD across the Houston, Portland, Philadelphia, Richmond, and San Francisco (West Coast; new partner) PADRECCs’ rural, multi-state service areas. FY-2026 goals: Objective I (Rural Outreach/Engagement): Outreach and engage underserved rural Veterans with PD in new and expanded PADRECC service areas. Objective II (Clinical Service Delivery): Provide telemedicine-delivered, evidence-based services (consultation, treatment planning, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, and Group Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy). Objective III (Workforce Development): Maintain current workforce development framework while expanding PD-informed psychotherapy training and mentorship/supervision programs. Objective IV (National Implementation Framework): Further establish a national implementation framework that supports program integration within existing VA and PADRECC infrastructure. Objective V (Outcome Evaluation): Measure clinical and implementation outcomes utilizing the RE-AIM framework.