The Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM) will hold its 41st Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions April 1-4, 2020, in San Francisco, CA. This application seeks funding in support of meeting programming addressing the following specific aims: (1) to train attendees in the skills necessary to effectively integrate emerging technologies into the behavioral medicine landscape, including (but not limited to) wearable sensors, telemedicine, and artificial intelligence; (2) to showcase effective models of cross-disciplinary collaboration that facilitate acceleration of the discovery-to-dissemination pipeline for behavioral medicine interventions; (3) to enhance the diversity of behavioral medicine professionals by providing mentoring, leadership training, professional development, and employment networking opportunities to trainees, junior and midcareer faculty, clinicians, industry professionals, and others who attend the meeting; and (4) to enhance the methodological rigor of behavioral science research by having expert-led discussions on clinical trial methodology, reproducibility, open science, and interdisciplinary collaboration to produce new theoretical models and methods. SBM is the nation?s leading scientific society dedicated to behavioral medicine, representing approximately 2,400 researchers and clinicians from more than 20 disciplines. SBM?s members include researchers, clinicians, educators, and industry professionals who focus on the development and integration of behavioral, psychosocial, and biomedical theory, knowledge, and interventions relevant to the understanding of health and disease. They work to understand, prevent, and treat chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, diabetes, and cancer. They conduct research and translate findings into real- world settings to improve lives while also reducing healthcare costs. SBM?s annual meetings are the premier forum for disseminating behavioral medicine?s important ideas and breakthroughs. The meeting?s educational sessions, networking events, and exhibit halls facilitate exchange of information and ideas. Attendees apply the knowledge gained to disease prevention and management, and development of innovative research designs, effective interventions and strategies, and evidence-based policies. SBM meetings feature high- impact plenary speakers who present topics such as ?Health and Technology Megatrends? (Susannah Fox, 2019). The 2020 SBM Annual Meeting will be attended by an estimated 2,100 individuals from the United States and abroad, featuring more than 1,500 presentations. The meeting theme is ?Accelerating Our Science: Finding Innovative Solutions to Tomorrow?s Health Challenges.? Sessions will energize attendees to accelerate behavioral medicine by using new methodological approaches, advanced behavioral theories, and novel technologies as well as by overcoming key barriers, such as health inequities, policy challenges, health misinformation, and cross-disciplinary communication difficulties. Most of our country's health challenges have behavioral origins. Behavioral medicine and the evidence it generates are more important than ever.
(PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE) The Society of Behavioral Medicine?s 41st Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions, to be held April 1-4, 2020, will bring together 2,100 of the nation?s leading behavioral scientists, clinicians, educators, and policymakers to exchange new research on improving health through behavior change, in particular via accelerating behavioral medicine through new methodological approaches, behavioral theories, and advanced technology such as artificial intelligence as well as by overcoming key barriers to progress in behavioral medicine such as health inequities, policy challenges, health misinformation, and cross-disciplinary communication difficulties. 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 goals of improving health behaviors, reducing the burden of chronic disease, lowering healthcare costs, and bettering our nation?s health.
