Grant Number:	1R13HL132444-01 Interpret this number
Primary Investigator:	Fitzgibbon, Marian
Organization:	Society Of Behavioral Medicine
Project Title:	Society of Behavioral Medicine 2016 Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions
Fiscal Year:	2016

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM) will hold its 37th Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions from March 30 to April 2, 2016, in Washington, DC. SBM is the nation's leading multidisciplinary organization 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 with 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, and public health experts. They work to understand, prevent, and treat chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer. They conduct research and translate findings into real-world settings to improve the lives of individuals, families, and entire communities. SBM's focus on the interaction of behavior, biology, and environment is closely aligned with the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's mission. SBM's annual meetings represent the largest yearly scientific sessions devoted exclusively to behavioral medicine; they are regarded as the premier forum for the field's most important and influential research and practice. The annual meeting convenes researchers and practitioners, creating a forum where attendees can exchange knowledge to better understand how to change behaviors. Attendees can then apply that knowledge to the prevention and management of multiple diseases or to the improvement of multiple health outcomes. The 2016 SBM Annual Meeting will be attended by an estimated 1,600 individuals and will feature more than 1,300 presentations. The theme for the meeting is "Behavioral Medicine at a Crossroads: 21st Century Challenges and Solutions." As such, it will highlight various drivers of change in the field (e.g., health care reform, technological advancements, funding landscape changes) and will show how the field can adapt to ensure behavioral medicine research continues being translated into effective, evidence-based interventions that lead to the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases. The meeting will also broaden how attendees think about their research, their careers, and the translation of behavioral medicine. This application seeks funding in support of SBM's 2016 Annual Meeting, for programming that addresses the following specific aims: (1) to identify new opportunities for translating behavioral medicine research into evidence-based approaches and 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 of trainees, clinicians, researchers, and other professionals who attend the 2016 SBM Annual Meeting. Narrative: The Society of Behavioral Medicine's 37thAnnual Meeting & Scientific Sessions, to be held from March 30 to April 2, 2016, will bring together the nation's leading behavioral scientists clinicians, educators, 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 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 improving our nation's health.





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