From Corporate to Camo: Improving PTSD Outreach Materials for Veterans Through Collaborative Design

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a common and often debilitating mental health issue for military veterans. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has invested heavily in hiring and training clinicians able to deliver proven therapies for PTSD, known as evidence-based therapies (EBT). Despite this, many veterans with PTSD do not seek or receive these therapies. We sought to address two barriers to EBT uptake—lack of awareness of EBT and suspicion that they are of limited efficacy or fraught with adverse side effects—by engaging veterans in a participatory design process and dissemination of veteran-centric educational materials about EBT. Collaborative design (co-design) is a tool of community-based participatory research and an effective way to tailor communications. Our goal was to enhance these veterans’ capacity to talk about the benefits of EBT and thereby increase clinical care seeking among their peers. Using a 5-step creative process approach, we developed printable and electronic materials to support their efforts. We readily identified veterans who were engaged around mental health issues. We also learned that they were most interested in ensuring that fellow veterans with PTSD recognize their symptoms and receive help, rather than advocating for use of specific EBT’s. This paper outlines the process and lessons learned in developing a collaborative design project, offering a model to improve clinical engagement through culturally tailored communications.