The Socio-Behavioral Program has 42 members from 15 departments in five schools: Medicine, Nursing, Public Health, Social Work and Literature, Science and Arts, as well as the Institute for Social Research, and $8.3 million in annual direct cancer-related research funding Including $3.55 million from the NCI, This figure indicates that the Socio-Behavioral Program has increased by over 50% in its research funding since the last review in 2005 ($5,492,758). The Socio-Behavioral Program focuses on four thematic areas: (1) Health Communications, (2) Health Services Research, (3) Quality of Life Research, and (4) Tobacco Control, Investigators from each of the four thematic areas of the Program are involved In collaborative endeavors with Investigators from the Cancer Center's clinical programs. The Program also Interacts strongly with the Biomedical Program within Cancer Prevention and Control. In particular, investigators from the Socio-Behavioral Program work frequently with researchers from epidemiology, biostatistics and genetics within the Biomedical Program. The four scientific goals for this program are to: 1) extend the reach of research Interactions to include a variety of disciplines Including Medicine, Public Health, Nursing, Social Work and Psychology;2) increase the frequency and depth of research interactions of Socio-Behavioral Program Investigators across the thematic areas;3) Increase the number of high-qualified Socio-Behavioral Program investigators;and 4) maintain the high level of external funding and peer-reviewed publications In Socio-Behavioral research. Over this grant period, program members published 383 publications, of which 14.6% were intraprogrammatic and 22.5% were inter-programmatic collaborations. Importantly, the UMCCC Is a central resource that nurtures the program through support of strategic planning, recruitment, resources for pilot studies, and dissemination including public relations. Future plans Include 1 to extend the reach of research interactions to include a variety of disciplines and organizations. 2) to continue to foster the robust research interactions of Socio-Behavioral program investigators through the growth and maintenance of research clusters;3) to maintain the high level of external funding and peer-reviewed publications in Socio- Behavioral research;and 4) to encourage utilization of the Health Communications Core (HCC) by all thematic areas of the Socio- Behavioral program.
The Socio-behavioral Program will improve population health in a number of ways. Its aims are to advance policy and methods to improve quality of care, cancer patient communication and decision-making, and quality of life for patients with cancer.
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