Providence Veterans serve again through research

Kenneth Lewis is the 5,000th Veteran from VA Providence Healthcare to join the Million Veteran Program (MVP), VA's largest research effort.

MVP works to improve Veterans' lives by studying how genes, lifestyle, military experiences and exposures affect health. More than 1,080,000 Veterans across the nation have already joined MVP.

"We are most grateful to the 5,000 Veterans in VA Providence Health Care System who have joined MVP. They are helping us make important discoveries toward improving Veteran health," said Dr. Satish Sharma, the local site investigator and a professor of medicine at Brown University's Alpert Medical School.

Every Veteran makes a difference in our research

Thanks to Veterans like Lewis and the more than 1,000,000 Veterans nationwide, certain health conditions are understood better than ever before.

MVP has supported the largest genetic studies to date on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depression and heart disease. Other research areas include tinnitus, cancer, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, Gulf War Illness, endometriosis and suicide prevention.

What it means to join the Million Veteran Program

Veterans can join MVP at their local participating VA facility or online at www.mvp.va.gov. Participation in MVP is entirely voluntary.

Joining MVP involves:

1. Filling out surveys through the mail or online about health and lifestyle.
2. Providing a blood sample, either by mail or in-person at a participating VA facility.
3. Granting MVP secure access to health records on an ongoing basis.
4. Agreeing to future contact by MVP for additional research opportunities.

To learn more and join today, visit MVP or call 866-441-6075 to schedule an appointment.

This article was originally published on the Providence VA Healthcare System siteand has been edited for style and clarity.