Due to the dearth of veteran-centered research, gaining the unique perspective of veterans' engagement in research is essential to address their health needs. Veterans have expressed desire in shaping treatment options for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), however many veterans are hesitant to engage in the research enterprise. This community engagement project was designed to train veterans as full partners and join forces with researchers on PTSD-related patient-centered outcomes research (PCOR) and comparative effectiveness research (CER). A National Advisory Board (NAB; n = 8) of veterans and key stakeholders were created. The NAB developed the Veteran-Driven Research Participation Training Program (VDRPTP). The VDRTP consists of four modules narrated by veterans: 1) Research Bootcamp-Basic Training; 2) Ethics, Participants Rights, and PCOR and CER research; 3) Communicating About Research; and 4) Time for Action! The VetResearchHub was also created to provide a platform for veterans to engage directly with researchers and collaborate on veterancentered PCOR and CER.The VDRPTP was appraised by veterans who provided feedback about the VDRPTP. The VDRPTP was revised for ease of access. 96% of veterans exhibited overall satisfaction with the modules. Veterans also expressed an increase in willingness to participate in research projects.This project supports a promising first step toward reducing existing barriers between veterans and research teams. The provision of free, accessible, web-based education about the research process, designed for veterans, combined with a networking infrastructure-VetResearchHub-may ultimately support the advancement of veteran-focused PTSDrelated PCOR and CER.

The COVID-19 Pandemic limited access to healthcare, engagement in research, and disrupted formal and informal peer and community support systems. As a result, a multistate project using Think Tank Meetings (TTMs) to uncover the needs of veterans experiencing chronic pain was expanded. The expanded project sought to identify factors supporting social engagement, describe COVID-19 pandemic-related dilemmas, and provide recommendations for researchers seeking to engage veterans during times of pandemics and social isolation. The project team used field note templates to summarize veterans' dialogue during TTMs. Collated summaries were analyzed using open and axial coding. In total 151 veterans and stakeholders participated in TTMs across four US states: Florida, Georgia, New Jersey, and New York. Discussions focused on the following aspects of participants' pandemic experiences: managing chronic pain, managing social isolation, veterans' research priorities, and strategies that researchers might use to engage veterans in research during a pandemic. Recommendations for clinical practice, public policy, and future research are presented. Derived from veteran recommendations, a Veteran-Centered Coronavirus Toolkit for Researchers was developed and consists of: (a) field note templates used in this project, (b) veterans' recommendations for effective researcher-veteran engagement strategies during times of social isolation, (c) a checklist for Veteran-Centered Research Engagement that can guide researchers during times of widespread social isolation, (d) a veteran-generated COVID-19 pandemic Patient-Centered /Comparative Effectiveness research agenda including examples of novel Comparative Effectiveness Research (CER) questions. The researcher toolkit is available at https:// nursing.fau.edu/documents/cpaww/val-toolkit.pdf. Information presented in this paper is intended for veterans and key stakeholders to collaboratively engage in chronic-painrelated patient-centered outcomes research and comparative effectiveness research.