Society of Behavioral Medicine 2014 Annual Meeting and Scientific Sessions

Beckjord, Ellen

Abstract

The Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM) will hold its 35th Annual Meeting and Scientific Sessions on April 23-26, 2014 in Philadelphia, PA. SBM is the nation's premier multidisciplinary organization dedicated to behavioral medicine, representing more than 2200 behavioral and biomedical researchers and clinicians. SBM's Annual Meetings represent the largest yearly scientific sessions devoted exclusively to behavioral medicine and are regarded as the forum for the field's most important and influential research and practice. The theme of the 2014 meeting is """"""""Behavior Matters: The Impact and Reach of Behavioral Medicine."""""""" Featured presentations will address thematic areas including the cost effectiveness of preventive care;innovative behavioral interventions for treating hypertension and cardiovascular disease;integrating behavioral medicine into primary care;translating health policy into health impact;behavioral informatics;and reducing health disparities. SBM's 2013 Annual Meeting wasour largest yet, with over 1700 attendees. Our post-meeting content analysis revealed that more than 400 presentations specifically focused on research central to the mission of NHLBI with the remainder relevant to NHLBI's mission. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), seven out of 10 American deaths per year are due to chronic disease, and one out of every two Americans is living with at least one chronic disease. Research focused on chronic diseases looms large in SBM because, as our 2014 meeting theme suggests, behavior matters. CDC reports that four behavioral factors - sedentary lifestyle, poor diet, tobacco, and excessive alcohol use - account for the majority of chronic disease morbidity and mortality in the United States. SBM and its members are dedicated to reducing these behaviors and improving the health of our nation with rigorous behavioral medicine research and evidence-based interventions that leverage and influence health policy. This proposal seeks funding in support of SBM's 2014 Annual Meeting andScientific Sessions for programming that addresses the critical mission of NHLBI to support population and clinical research on the causes, prevention, and treatment of cardiovascular, lung, and blood diseases and sleep disorders.
The Specific Aims of this proposal are 1) to disseminate the results of and stimulate new dialogue regarding exceptional research devoted to understanding, treating, and improving outcomes resulting from acute and chronic health conditions of public health significance for which behavior plays a significant role in risk, incidence, progression, and/or resolution;2) to link the science of behavioral medicine to national- and local-level health policy in order to showcase how evidence-based behavioral medicine interventions can be leveraged to improve population health;and 3) to broaden the impact of behavioral medicine research and practice through strengthening existing partnerships;forming new collaborations;and continuing education, mentoring, and professional development of trainees, faculty, clinicians, and other professionals who attend the 2014 SBM Annual Meeting.

Public Health Relevance

The Society of Behavioral Medicine's 35th Annual Meeting and Scientific Sessions, to be held in April 2014, will bring together the nation's leading behavioral scientists, clinicians, and policymakers to exchange new research 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-level, clinic-based, and experimental research on the causes, prevention, and treatment of cardiovascular, lung, and blood diseases and sleep disorders, with the goal of improving health behaviors, reducing the burden of chronic disease, and improving our nation's health.