Society of Behavioral Medicine 2015 Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions

Society Of Behavioral Medicine, Milwaukee WI

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Linked publications & trials

Abstract

? DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM) will hold its 36th Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions on April 22- 25, 2015, in San Antonio, TX. SBM is the nation's premier 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. SBM's annual meetings represent the largest yearly scientific sessions devoted exclusively to behavioral medicine and are regarded as the 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. Together, cardiovascular disease, chronic lung disease, type 2 diabetes (which is linked with cardiovascular disease), and cancer account for approximately 50% of global mortality. These four chronic diseases are significantly impacted by preventable health behaviors, including tobacco use, unhealthy diets, physical inactivity, and excessive alcohol use. SBM and its members are dedicated to reducing these and other behaviors, and to improving the health of our nation with rigorous behavioral medicine research and evidence-based clinical interventions. The 2015 SBM Annual Meeting will be attended by an estimated 1,700 individuals and will feature more than 1,400 presentations. The theme for the meeting, Advancing the National Prevention Strategy through Behavioral Medicine Innovation, will focus on improving population health through behavioral medicine by considering changing our current system of health care delivery to one that supports good health for entire communities. The meeting will highlight multi-level opportunities for behavioral medicine to address the priorities described in the National Prevention Council's National Prevention Strategy framework, which seeks to advance national efforts to improve population-level health and well-being. This application seeks funding in support of SBM's 2015 Annual Meeting, for programming that addresses the following specific aims: (1) To link the science of behavioral medicine to national- and local-level prevention efforts in order to showcase how evidence-based behavioral medicine can be leveraged to improve population health and well-being; and (2) To broaden the impact of behavioral medicine research and practice through mentoring and professional development of trainees, clinicians, researchers, and other professionals who attend the 2015 SBM Annual Meeting.