In a document entitled Health and Behavior: A Research Agenda, the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine (1982) outlined the current knowledge base regarding the major psycho-social determinants of health states and the treatment and prevention of major widespread disorders. While this report represents a comprehensive summary of behavioral aspects of American health overall, vast differences exist between Anglos and particular minority groups in life styles and in the related prevalence, etiology and treatment for, and prevention of, physical and mental disorders. Hispanics, in particular, constitute a major and rapidly growing segment of the American population as well as a high risk group for a variety of disorders. Therefore, a conference is proposed to: 1) review the state-of-the-art of research knowledge regarding the prevalance, etiology, treatment and prevention of selected disorders, conditions and life circumstances affecting Hispanics 2) identify gaps in research knowledge and promising areas for future research, and 3) develop a set of recommendations establishing priorities and an agenda for future basic and applied research related to Hispanic populations. The conference will consist of presentations and discussions by nineteen prominant research scientists with generalized expertise in behavioral research and in Hispanic health and mental health issues. The conference proceedings will be edited and organized in monograph forms with a monograph being the intended final product of the proposed conference.
