Building and Sustaining Patient Engagement Infrastructure Focused on Overdose Prevention Within a US Veterans Affairs National Research Network

INTRODUCTION: The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has funded intramural research for over 100 years. A growing number of research funders, including VA, have placed an increasing emphasis on engaging patients in the research process and have invested in engagement infrastructure; however, few accounts are available that detail that infrastructure. This article describes the process and outcomes to plan, build, operate, and evaluate an Overdose Prevention Veteran Engagement (VE) Panel. METHODS: We employed multiple methods to document panel creation and operation, including authors' experiences, polls, and surveys. A nine-member Planning Committee, including both researchers and Veterans, worked over 4 months to establish processes for panel member recruitment, selection, and orientation. Ongoing service practices were created and documented, including researcher recruitment, meeting planning, and continuous improvement efforts. Authors' reflections on contributors to panel success were solicited and shared. RESULTS: A 12-member national VE panel was created. Three orientation sessions prepared members for their responsibilities, helped them feel confident in their roles, and connect with each other. After orientation, the panel met with unique research teams on seven occasions (average meeting attendance, 78%). Both Veterans and researchers reported high satisfaction via post-meeting evaluations. All consultations produced Veteran-inspired changes to researchers' projects. CONCLUSIONS: VA partners created an engagement consultation service bringing researchers together with Veteran patients who have both lived experience with drug use and an interest in reducing harms from substance use. Detailed processes and tools used to develop this successful engagement infrastructure may be adapted for use in other settings or with other pressing public health issues. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: Veterans with lived experience related to overdose prevention collaborated on the design and operation of the patient engagement service described in this work and as co-authors of this article.