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: Calm Moms

Principal Investigator: Dr. Mary Shapiro

About: The SC MIRECC funded a pilot study to facilitate tailoring a brief anxiety and depression intervention, called Calm Moms, for pregnant Veterans. Fourteen pregnant Veterans at Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System participated in focus groups. Veterans were eligible if they were pregnant, endorsed a previous traumatic event, and had elevated anxiety, depression, or PTSD symptoms. During the focus groups, participants were asked about their mental health symptoms during pregnancy and their experiences with VHA maternity care coordination and mental health treatment. They were also introduced to the Calm Moms intervention and asked for their thoughts on intervention content and suggestions for changes.

Feedback from Veterans: Focus groups were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed by the study team. Using a directed content analysis approach, five main themes were identified. Pregnant Veterans agreed that (1) their anxiety and trauma-related symptoms are unmanaged, (2) their mental health during pregnancy is overlooked, and (3) they are disinterested in traditional trauma-focused treatments during pregnancy. Further, they (4) identified several barriers to engaging in traditional psychotherapy, and (5) felt that Calm Moms was a tool that could increase engagement in VHA healthcare.

Impact: Lead to the successful funding of a Health Services Research Career Development Award-2 examining the efficacy of the updated version of Calm Moms among pregnant Veterans.

Last updated: July 20, 2026