VA Evidence-based Synthesis Program Coordinating Center

Established in 2007, the  Evidence-based Synthesis Program (ESP) makes high quality evidence synthesis available to clinicians, managers and policymakers as they work to improve the health and healthcare of Veterans. As part of the Quality Enhancement Research Initiative (QUERI) program, ESP is helping VA fulfill its vision of functioning as a continuously "learning healthcare system" to improve veteran health and health care. ESP achieves this by providing timely, targeted, thorough, unbiased and innovative syntheses of the medical literature for Veterans Health Administration (VHA) to translate into evidence-based clinical practice and policy, quality improvement and implementation, and future research initiatives at the national level.

Our program consists of four ESP Centers, each with an active University affiliation, and a Coordinating Center. Center directors are recognized leaders in the systematic review field with close ties to the AHRQ Evidence-based Practice Centers and Cochrane Collaboration and are practicing clinicians in the VA. This unique expertise enables ESP to produce comprehensive reports that answer a wide range of research questions in a variety of clinical and health system settings with a special emphasis on the Veteran population and geared towards helping VA leadership with policy and clinical decision making.

The ESP Coordinating Center (ESPCC) is charged with oversight of national ESP program operations, program development and evaluation, and dissemination efforts. The ESPCC establishes standard operating procedures for the production of evidence synthesis reports; facilitates a national topic nomination, prioritization, and selection process; manages the research portfolio of each Center; facilitates editorial review processes; ensures methodological consistency and quality of products; produces Rapid Response Evidence Briefs at the request of VHA senior leadership; collaborates with HSR&D Center for Information Dissemination and Education Resources (CIDER) to develop a national dissemination strategy for all ESP products; and interfaces with stakeholders to effectively engage the program.