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Center of Excellence Personnel

 Tracy Stecker, Ph.D.

VA Appointment: Co-Research Director
Academic Affiliation: Assistant Professor, College of Nursing, Medical University of South Carolina


Elizabeth Karras, Ph.D.











Contact Info
stecker@musc.edu
(802) 299-6910 

Publications
https://bit.ly/306NDpJ

Research Interests

Dr. Stecker is a psychologist and mental health services researcher who focuses on help-seeking behavior in individuals with mental illness.

She has received funding from the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Veterans Affairs to develop and test cognitive-behavioral interventions to increase mental health treatment seeking among military personnel returning from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and civilians, focusing on those with symptoms of PTSD, substance use, and suicidality.


Current Funding

 DATES SPONSOR PROJECT ROLE
10/18-10/22 National Institute for Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism CBT by phone to promote the use of alcohol related care and reduce drinking. Co-PI
The goal of this research is to evaluate the effectiveness of a cognitive-behavioral intervention to increase the uptake of alcohol treatment among indviduals with alcohol use disorders.
09/12-02/20 Department of Defense Increasing Treatment Seeking Among At-Risk Service Members Returning from Warzones. PI
The goal of this research is to evaluate the effectiveness of a cognitive-behavioral intervention to increase behavioral health treatment seeking among military personnel at-risk for suicide.  
07/16-07/19 Department of Defense Testing Comorbid Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Substance Use Disorders. Co-PI
The goal of this research is to evaluate the efficacy of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) on alcohol use disorders and PTSD severity among Veterans.  
10/16-9/20 National Institute for Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism A Randomized Controlled Trial of N-Acetylcysteine for Alcohol Use Disorder and Comorid PTSD. Co-I
The goal of this research is to evaluated the efficacy of N-acetylcysteine on alcohol use disorders and comorbid PTSD.  
04/18-06/19 VA Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Whole Health Implementation: Effect on functional improvement, reduction of opioid use, and factors associated with suicidal ideation. Co-I
This program will develop a strategic plan for the implementation of a Whole Health program for pain management for Veterans using prescription opioids.  
07/18-06/19 VA Health Services Research & Development (HSR&D) Developing public messaging strategies to facilitate help seeking among veterans at risk for suicide. Co-I
The objective of this study is to identify the characteristics of effective messages that facilitate help seeking among Veterans at high risk for suicide. The specific aims are as follows: (1) examine Veteran perceptions of existing public messages designed to motivate help seeking behaviors among those at high risk for suicide; (2) identify message features that influence the likelihood for help seeking behaviors by Veterans during periods of crisis; and (3) explore facilitators and barriers of message use to identify dissemination methods that reflect Veterans’ preferences to effectively reach those at high risk for suicide. Individual interviews with Veteran patients with a recent non-fatal suicide attempt (N=40) will be conducted using an interview guide, which reflects the study’s conceptual framework (Elaboration Likelihood Model) focused on the mechanisms of persuasive communication. Results will inform the development of a trial to evaluate the impact of public messaging to motivate and facilitate changes among Veterans to seek help when they are in a crisis and at high risk for suicide.  


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