Our research team
We are dedicated to developing Public Education Programming to impact Veteran suicide prevention
Current project: Development of a Sustainable Public Awareness Campaign to Prevent Veteran Suicides
We are a collaborative team from academic institutions, public, private and non-profit agencies dedicated to using Veteran focus groups, feedback surveying processes and state of the art marketing techniques to build our Public Health Messaging program to prevent Veteran suicides.
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We have developed full length video advertisements designed to engage, inform, change the dialog and motivate change and hope. Our project is designed to prevent suicide by informing the public about these issues.
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The following is a publication and presentation from our 1st project: Effect of Mass Communication on Veteran Suicide Prevention: Help Seeking & Firearm Safety Behaviors
- Berger BD, Kohlbeck SA, Howard KP, Birgenheir DG, Chavin RS, Knowlton GG, Larsen SE, Larson ER, Smith HM, Spalding RL, Thomas KB, Vallejo LG, Buttery D, Hargarten SW. Effect of Veteran-Focused Suicide Prevention Public Messaging on Help-Seeking Behavior and Secure Firearm Storage. Omega (Westport). 2024 Nov 15:302228241297553. doi: 10.1177/00302228241297553. PMID: 39547820.
- Project presented at the American Psychology Association Annual Convention Summer 2023
Medical College of Wisconsin
Psychiatry dept & COMPREHENSIVE INJURY CENTER
Sara Kohlbeck, PH.D., MPH,
Director of Suicide Prevention, Project Team Role: Co-investigator/data analysis
Psychiatry Department
Bertrand D. Berger, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Clinical Psychologist, Principal Investigator
Mark Flower, Veteran Peer Outreach Specialist, Focus Group facilitator
Gun Shop project of Wisconsin, State of National violent death reporting system
Jean Papalia
Team lead for the Wisconsin VA’s Governor’s Challenge – lethal means,
Project Team Role: Firearm storage messaging,
Co Nguyen, Acting President and CEO, War Memorial Center
Dan Buttery, Former President & CEO, Director of Marketing and Advertising
Mary Bridges, Public Relations consultant, Creative Advertising, Interim Chair for Wisconsin Veteran Broadcasting Coalition (WVBC)
Project Team Role: Public Education Program support, Marketing team
University of Wisconsin – Madison
Nick Buttrick, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Psychology, Project team role: Messaging, member of WVBC.
VA Medical Center, Milwaukee
Michael McBride, MD
Project Team Role: Focus groups/Message development/Veteran consultant
Jamie Noffsinger, Psy.D.
Project Team Role: Focus groups/Message development/Veteran consultant
David Walter
VA Public Affairs, Project Team Role: Messaging, press releases, member WVBC.