The Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM) will hold its 38th Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions from March 29 to April 1, 2017, in San Diego, CA. This application seeks funding in support of meeting programming that addresses the following specific aims: (1) to engage attendees in translating behavioral medicine research into evidence-based interventions that improve individual and population health; and (2) to broaden the impact of behavioral medicine research and practice?and to enhance the diversity of behavioral medicine professionals? by providing mentoring and professional development to trainees, junior faculty, clinicians, researchers, and others who attend the meeting. SBM is the nation?s leading scientific society dedicated to behavioral medicine, representing more than 2,000 behavioral and biomedical researchers and clinicians from more than 20 disciplines. Behavioral medicine is an interdisciplinary field comprised of researchers, practitioners, educators, and policymakers who focus on the development and integration of behavioral, psychosocial, and biomedical theory, knowledge, and interventions relevant to the understanding of health and illness. Behavioral medicine professionals include psychologists, physicians, nurses, epidemiologists, nutritionists, exercise scientists, biostatisticians, and public health experts. They work to understand, prevent, and treat chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and cancer. SBM?s annual meetings are the premier forum for behavioral medicine?s most important ideas and breakthrough findings. The meeting?s educational sessions, formal networking events, and informal networking forums promote the sharing of attendee knowledge in an open, colloquial way. This stimulates new thinking that can lead to scientific innovations. Attendees apply the knowledge gained to the prevention and management of heart, lung, blood, and other diseases; and the creation of innovative research designs, effective clinical interventions, and evidence-based health policies. SBM meetings feature high-impact keynote speakers and master lecturers who present topics such as ?Achieving Longer, Healthier Lives? (Robert Kaplan, PhD, 2014), ?Advancing Health Equity? (Edward Ehlinger, MD, MSPH, 2015), and ?The Role of School Nutrition in Children's Health and Well-Being? (Jessica Donze Black, RD, MPH, 2016). The 2017 SBM Annual Meeting will be attended by an estimated 1,500 individuals and will feature more than 1,300 presentations. The meeting theme is ?La Buena Vista: Expanding Horizons of Behavioral Medicine. The meeting will remind attendees to look back at past behavioral medicine accomplishments with pride; it will also encourage them to look toward new opportunities to advance research and accelerate its translation to real- world clinical practice, public health programs, and federal or state health policies. Given the poor health of our nation, translating research, sharing ideas, and achieving SBM?s vision of ?better health through behavior change? have never been more important.
The Society of Behavioral Medicine?s 38th Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions, to be held from March 29 to April 1, 2017, will bring together 1,500 of the nation?s leading behavioral scientists, clinicians, educators, and policymakers to exchange new research on improving health through behavior change. Through a broad range of scientific presentations, discussions, and skill-building workshops, the meeting will facilitate the exchange of the latest population?level, clinic?based, and experimental research on the prevention and treatment of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality, with the goal of improving health behaviors, reducing the burden of chronic disease, and bettering our nation?s health.
