Opportunities for health services research in the VA with regard to care of the aged

The VA has recognized that it must respond vigorously to the problems of the aging veteran: the ways in which it responds can be significantly shaped by, and in turn will shape, health services research conducted in the VA medical care system. The VA has the resources necessary to conduct comprehensive, valuable research within its system-a large, aging patient population; the new Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Centers; and the Gerontology fellows program. Despite some barriers to research on all modalities of care for the aging veteran, there are four promising areas in which enterprising health services research can be conducted: prognostic studies, community care, geriatric manpower, and clinical epidemiology.