This application requests R13 funding to support the Annual Meeting of the Society for Prevention Research (SPR), and activities closely related to the Annual Meeting, for five years (2012-2016). The SPR was established in 1991 with the goal of improving the science of prevention, not within a single health domain, but within all aspects of physical and mental health and social well-being. This goal and its potential benefits are reflected in the research of the more than 700 members of SPR. This research focuses largely on epidemiology, etiology and prevention of a variety of negative outcomes including the use of drugs, alcohol, tobacco, and other substances, HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted disease, violence, and obesity. In addition, members' research focuses on the promotion of healthy outcomes, including issues related to maternal, infant, and child health, mental health, social/emotional development, and academic achievement. The research conducted by SPR members and presented at the Annual Meeting is highly relevant to objectives and strategies outlined in Healthy People 2020; NIH Training Institute on Dissemination and Implementation Research; the National Collaborative on Childhood Obesity Research; and the FY2011 Trans- NIH Plan for HIV-Related Research. For example, with regard to the HIV/AIDS specific objectives outlined, presentations include research related to: 1) the empirical development, evaluation, and diffusion of behavioral, social, environmental and economic interventions to prevent HIV transmission and acquisition by reducing HIV-related risk behaviors and increasing protective behaviors, including implementation research; 2) study of the determinants, processes, and cultural contextual issues influencing HIV-related risk and protective factors; and 3) improvement of the quality of behavioral and social science methodology in HIV research.
The Specific Aims of the current application build on the progress in the field of prevention science, prior annual meetings, work of SPR committees and workgroups and on the SPR's five-year strategic planning process.
These specific aims are: (1) to use the Annual Meeting to develop further a centrally integrated scientific forum for the exchange of new concepts, methods, and results from prevention research and related public health fields; (2) to advance the science of drug abuse and HIV/AIDS prevention by bringing together researchers from multiple disciplines and substantive areas to ensure that new knowledge, cutting-edge methods and innovation from across the NIH institutes are integrated into the research portfolios of NIDA and HIV/AIDS researchers; (3) to generate, promote, and support innovation in prevention science through Mapping Advances in Prevention Science (MAPS) Task Forces; (4) to use the Annual Meeting to support the development of the next generation of prevention scientists through training, career building, and leadership development; (5) to enhance the reach, benefits, and impact of the scientific developments emanating from the Annual Meetings and from the work of the SPR committees and MAPS Task Forces, and thereby to ensure that the cutting-edge scientific developments that emerge at the Annual Meeting are widely disseminated to a larger and more varied audience.
The Society for Prevention Research (SPR) has established itself as the leading scientific organization devoted to advancing prevention science, dedicated to investigating the etiology and prevention of social, physical and mental health problems and the translation of that information to promote health and well-being. A multidisciplinary organization comprised of scientists, practitioners, and policy makers, the cornerstone of the SPR's efforts to advance the science of prevention is its Annual Meeting. The annual meetings promote cross- fertilization of theory, methods, and intervention and provide an opportunity to enhance understanding of the underlying mechanisms of health-related issues with the goal of building the science of effective strategies for health promotion.
