Suicide rates among veterans remain high, underscoring the necessity of identifying modifiable suicide risk and protective factors that can be targeted through public health approaches. One way to ensure that survey-based research yields information necessary to translate findings into patient-centered interventions is through veteran engagement. The current manuscript describes perspectives of members of a national Veterans Engagement Board (VEB) in contributing to the Assessing Social and Community Environments with National Data (ASCEND) for Veteran Suicide Prevention project. Contributions have included strengthening communication with potential veteran participants, addressing sensitive survey topics such as firearms and suicide, and ensuring that ASCEND is responsive to current national and global events. Additionally, Veterans Engagement Board members described the personal impact of engagement. These contributions highlight the value of veteran engagement as an integral component of suicide risk and prevention research.

中文翻译：

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退伍军人参与预防自杀的调查研究。

退伍军人的自杀率仍然很高，这凸显了确定可改变的自杀风险和可通过公共卫生方法瞄准的保护因素的必要性。确保基于调查的研究产生将研究结果转化为以患者为中心的干预措施所需的信息的一种方法是通过退伍军人的参与。当前的手稿描述了国家退伍军人参与委员会 (VEB) 成员在为退伍军人自杀预防项目利用国家数据评估社会和社区环境 (ASCEND) 做出贡献时的观点。贡献包括加强与潜在退伍军人参与者的沟通、解决枪支和自杀等敏感调查主题，以及确保 ASCEND 对当前的国家和全球事件做出响应。此外，退伍军人参与委员会成员还描述了参与对个人的影响。这些贡献凸显了退伍军人参与作为自杀风险和预防研究不可或缺的组成部分的价值。