MIRECC / CoE

The Veteran’s Voice: Veterans Impact on Research

Veterans’ knowledge and feedback impact every phase of research. “The Veteran’s Voice” takes you inside the projects of SC MIRECC affiliates to get Veterans’ takes on the research they participate in and the impact they have on the results.

Project: Increasing Engagement of African American Veterans in Tobacco Cessation Treatment

Principal Investigator: Dr. Darius Dawson

About: The project aimed to identify barriers and facilitators to tobacco cessation treatment for African American Veterans who use tobacco. We interviewed 30 Veterans on their perspectives of the current state of treatment and recommendations on how the VA can better serve their community regarding tobacco cessation care.

Feedback from Veterans:

• “Some of that would surprise me that there is this program specifically for African Americans. I mean it’s a good thing we’re not being put in each, but we need to be addressed specifically. I think it’s a great service.”
• “To get the community involved to try to help 'em out to try to quit smoking, and I think by the community and everybody getting involved, it would be a lot of help. The more people involved, the more help it would be, I think.”
• “Very important, because I feel as though we as African American Veterans are greatly, you know, just ignored. That's the best word I can use for it. Just ignored. There's not much of anything that I've ever seen other than this program that actually deals directly with African American Veterans.”

Impact: Feedback from Veterans led to a marketing campaign to increase awareness of tobacco cessation resources at the Houston VA developed in collaboration with African American Veterans. Veterans provided guidance on pictures of African American adults, specific local and national treatment resource information, and the slogan included in the campaign. Marketing has since expanded into other facilities in VISN 16. Feedback also led to a subsequent project involving creation of a Community Advocacy Board to increase access of African American Veterans to tobacco cessation treatment at the Houston VA.

Last updated: May 5, 2026