Veteran-informed design considerations for telehealth cognitive rehabilitation in substance use disorder care

Veterans with substance use disorder frequently experience cognitive difficulties that interfere with treatment engagement and everyday functioning. When designing telehealth-delivered research involving cognitively demanding interventions, study procedures and intervention materials must align with veterans' cognitive needs and contexts. This brief report describes how veteran-informed preparatory design work can be conducted to inform research procedures for feasibility and acceptability testing of a telehealth-delivered cognitive rehabilitation intervention within a Veteran Affairs health care system. Veteran input was obtained through consultation with an established veteran engagement group, whose members serve in an advisory role for Veteran Affairs research. During a structured consultation, veterans reviewed recruitment materials and components of the telehealth-delivered intervention. Veteran engagement activities were considered alongside operational data sources, including recruitment activity logs and telehealth workflow documentation, to inform research decisions related to recruitment materials, telehealth workflows, and intervention delivery. Data were analyzed using directed content analysis, with implementation frameworks applied pragmatically to organize design-relevant observations and document refinements. Key themes included cognitive burden and accessibility, language and recovery orientation, relational and contextual factors in recruitment, telehealth usability and cognitive load, and telehealth-compatible intervention delivery. Findings highlight the value of integrating veteran perspectives with operational realities during early research planning to strengthen accessibility and acceptability of telehealth-delivered cognitive rehabilitation programs in Veteran Affairs and similar organized care settings. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).