Best Practices in Recruitment and Outreach to Women and Diverse Veterans for Coronavirus Research at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

In September 2020, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) launched a novel volunteer research registry to rapidly recruit eligible study participants for research on SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 vaccines and treatments at VA Medical Centers selected as study sites for COVID-19 clinical trials. Targeted multimedia outreach campaigns were used to recruit diverse populations, including those historically under-represented in medical research. By November 2022, 58,561 volunteers were enrolled in the registry, 19% of whom were women, 9% Hispanic/Latino, and 8% Black. The registry's strategic approach to outreach proved successful in recruiting diverse volunteers, with geotargeted e-mails recruiting the most diversity.

Leveraging the Million Veteran Program Infrastructure and Data for a Rapid Research Response to COVID-19.

Background: The Veterans Health Administration Office of Research and Development (ORD) played a key role in the federal government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The ORD effectively leveraged existing resources to answer questions related to the SARS-CoV-2 virus and COVID-19. Observations: When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, the Million Veteran Program (MVP), one of the largest genomic cohorts in the world, extended the centralized recruitment and enrollment infrastructure to develop a COVID-19 research volunteer registry to assist enrollment in the vaccine and treatment trials in which the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) participated. In addition, the MVP allowed for new data collection and a large genomic cohort to understand host contributions to COVID-19. This article describes ways the MVP contributed to the VA's rapid research response to COVID-19. Several host genetic factors believed to play a role in the development and severity of COVID-19 were identified. Furthermore, existing MVP partnerships with other federal agencies, particularly with the Department of Energy, were leveraged to improve understanding and management of COVID-19. Conclusions: A previously established enterprise approach and research infrastructure were essential to the VA's successful and timely COVID-19 research response. This infrastructure not only supported rapid recruitment in vaccine and treatment trials, but also leveraged the unique MVP and VA electronic health record data to drive rapid scientific discovery and inform clinical operations. Extending the models that VA research applied to the federal government at large and establishing centralized resources for shared or federated data analyses across federal agencies will better equip the nation to respond to future public health crises.