The Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM) will hold its 33rd Annual Meeting and Scientific Sessions on April 11-14, 2012 in New Orleans, LA. SBM is the nation's premier multi-disciplinary organization dedicated to behavioral medicine, representing nearly 2,000 behavioral and biomedical researchers and clinicians from more than 20 different disciplines. SBM's annual meetings represent the largest annual scientific sessions devoted exclusively to behavioral medicine, and are regarded as a forum for the field's most important and influential research and practice. The multidisciplinary membership of SBM provides a range of expertise that spans epidemiological research to identify patterns of disease and risk factors;research on the genetic, behavioral, sociocultural, and environmental influences on disease risk and outcomes;clinical trials to prevent disease;and research on the application of prevention and treatment strategies to improve clinical care and public health. SBM researchers - individually and in strategic partnerships with community and government agencies - are working to improve clinical care and public health and address key priority areas in Healthy People 2020. The overarching aims of SBM's 2012 Annual Meeting are to: 1) Provide a forum for the exchange of new research and clinical data on the interactions of health and behavior; 2) Provide in-depth presentations on recent advances in behavioral interventions for health improvement; 3) Increase the scientific exchange between researchers and clinicians; 4) Address behavioral medicine's role in the changing health care environment;5) Examine strategies for facilitating the application of research evidence to clinical practice and public health programs;and 6) Promote the development of new interdisciplinary education and training efforts in behavioral medicine. Each year approximately 35% of SBM's annual program explicitly addresses the causes, prevention, and clinical care of cardiovascular, lung, and blood diseases. The focus on these chronic diseases and conditions - which are the specific purview of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute - is particularly timely given that diseases of the heart and lung remain the top killers of Americans as well as a growing number of nations worldwide. Cardiovascular disease, chronic lung disease, type 2 diabetes, and cancer are the four major chronic diseases that are responsible for approximately 50% of global mortality. In turn, these four chronic diseases are significantly impacted by three preventable health behaviors - tobacco use, unhealthy diets, and inactivity - which are primary targets of research and clinical intervention by the Behavioral Medicine field. This proposal seeks funding for support of SBM's 2012 Annual Meeting and Scientific Sessions for programming that addresses the broad vision of NHLBI's Division of Cardiovascular Sciences in supporting population- and clinic-based research on the causes, prevention, and clinical care of cardiovascular, lung, and blood diseases and sleep disorders.
The Society of Behavioral Medicine's 33rd Annual Meeting and Scientific Sessions, held in April 2012, will bring together the nation's leading behavioral and social scientists, clinicians, and policymakers to exchange new research and clinical data on the interactions of health and behavior. Through a broad range of scientific presentations, discussions, and didactic workshops, this conference will facilitate the exchange of the latest population- and clinic-based research on the causes, prevention, and clinical care of cardiovascular, lung, and blood diseases and sleep disorders, with the goal of reducing the burden of disease and improving our nation's health.
