Events | Science Of Behavior Change

Events

November 2, 2021 | Sean D. Young, Ph.D., M.S. Presents: Reading Between the Tweets: Social Technologies for Predicting and Changing Health Behavior

Speaker: Sean D. Young, Ph.D., M.S.

Executive Director, University of California Institute for Prediction Technology

Associate Professor, Departments of Emergency Medicine and Informatics, University of California, Irvine

Date: November 2, 2021 – 1:00 p.m. ET to 2:00 p.m. ET

Description: Social technologies and their associated data are increasingly being used as tools in public health research and practice. Examples include social media, mobile apps, internet searches, and wearable sensors. More than half the world (4.5 billion people) uses social media sites to create, share, and discuss content—often in the form of personal thoughts, behaviors, and clinical diagnoses. Dr. Young will discuss how social technologies and data (e.g., artificial intelligence and data science modeling) are being used to impact public health and how researchers and health departments/agencies might apply them in public health surveillance/intervention efforts. He will also present his team’s research on how these tools can be employed to predict and change health behaviors, and on implementation-related issues such as policy and ethical questions. The studies to be discussed involve populations affected by HIV, mental health and substance use disorders, car crashes, or COVID-19.

Events

Register for the Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research’s Meeting on Optimal Longevity: Mechanisms of Healthspan & Reducing Health Disparities

Join ABMR for cutting-edge talks and discussion on longevity mechanisms and behavioral medicine

You are invited to attend a special meeting on healthy aging research sponsored by the Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research—a society of senior researchers. Listen to cutting-edge presentations and high-level discussion on a broad range of factors shaping human healthspan, including the role of social stressors such as trauma, racism, climate change. We will dive into regulatory mechanisms (vagal tone, immune aging, microbiome, mitochondria, epigenetic clocks) and interventions (such as mindfulness, breathing, and hyperthermia). Hear leading experts on optimizing brain aging and longevity, and engage in thought provoking discussions to move the field forward.

This meeting will be held online via zoom October 8th-11th, and you will be invited to participate through zoom Q&A sessions. You will receive the zoom link in the week before the conference. Registration is $50 for students, and there is a sliding scale for general admission from $100 – $400. Like many events, this meeting had to be rescheduled several times due to the pandemic, and has become very expensive to host with financial losses. If you can afford one of the higher rates, ABMR greatly appreciates your support of their non-profit academic society!

October 7, 2021 | Guillaume Chevance, PhD Presentation: Thinking Health-related Behaviors in a Climate Change Context

On October 7th at 11am, Dr. Guillaume Chevance will give a Grand Rounds presentation on: Thinking Health-related Behaviors in a Climate Change Context.

Human activities have changed the biosphere so profoundly over the past two centuries that human induced climate change is now posing serious health-related treats to the current and future generations. Rapid actions from all scientific fields are needed to contribute to both the mitigation and adaption to climate change. This presentation will discuss the bi-directional associations between climate change effects (i.e., rising average temperatures, natural disasters, air pollution, rising sea level) and health-related behaviors, as well as a set of key actions/propositions for the behavioral medicine community.

To register, click here.

Subscribe to the Science of Behavior Change (SOBC) YouTube Channel

The Science of Behavior Change (SOBC) seeks to improve the understanding of underlying mechanisms of human behavior change by promoting research on the initiation, personalization, and maintenance of behavior change. SOBC aims to bring together basic and applied scientists across health-related behaviors, such as diet, exercise, and medication adherence, in order to develop more effective behavioral interventions. SOBC research is funded by the SOBC Common Fund Program in the Office of Strategic Coordination, Office of the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Common Fund programs resonate with the missions of multiple Institutes, Centers, and Offices at the NIH. Its programs are intended to be transformative, cross-cutting, and unique. NIH staff from more than 15 Institutes, Centers, and Offices are involved in SOBC research and several of them are active members of the SOBC Research Network as Program Officials and Project Scientists associated with Network projects.

Visit and subscribe to the SOBC YouTube Channel here to access all recent presentation recordings.

June 1, 2021 | Jeff Huffman, MD Presentation: Developing and Testing Positive Psychology-based Interventions to Promote Physical Activity

Co-hosted with Columbia Roybal Center for Fearless Behavior Change on June 1st at 3pm EST, Dr. Jeff Huffman will present on Developing and testing positive psychology-based interventions to promote physical activity.

To register: click here

Dr. Jeff Huffman is a Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and the Director of the Cardiac Psychiatry Research Program. His work has focused on developing scalable clinical interventions to improve mental health and health behaviors in people with heart disease and related medical conditions. This includes developing a positive psychology-based intervention program to promote physical activity among patients with recent acute cardiac events and those with more chronic conditions. His work has led to more than 180 peer-reviewed publications, and he has received funding from multiple NIH institutes, the American Heart Association, the American Diabetes Association, and the Templeton Foundation.

Events

March 23, 2021 | OBSSR Director’s Webinar with Rebecca Cunningham, M.D.: Behavioral Health and Injury Prevention: The Emergency Department as a Window to Community and Population Health

Event Date: March 23, 2021
Presenter: Rebecca Cunningham, M.D.

Register for this online only event.

Overview

This presentation will provide overview of violence prevention among Emergency Department patients including the CDC best practice program SafERteens. Participants will understand the longitudinal outcomes of Emergency Department youth regarding substance use and violence including how to utilize the SAFETY score to predict risk for firearm injury. Review the history of firearm injury prevention research and the capacity building NICHD funded FACTS grant.

February 17, 2021 | Samantha Farris, PhD Presentation: Targeting Fear and Avoidance of Exercise in Cardiac Rehabilitation

Co-hosted with Columbia Roybal Center for Fearless Behavior Change on February 17th at 12pm EST, Dr. Samantha Farris will present on Targeting Fear and Avoidance of Exercise in Cardiac Patients.

To register: click here

Dr. Samantha Farris is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology and is the Director of The Rutgers Emotion, Health and Behavior (REHAB) Laboratory. Dr. Farris received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at The University of Houston, and completed her psychology internship at the Alpert Medical School at Brown University. She completed fellowships in cancer prevention at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and in cardiovascular behavioral medicine at The Miriam Hospital/Alpert Medical School at Brown University. Dr. Farris has published over 100 peer-reviewed publications and has received continuous funding for her research from the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Farris’ research focuses on understanding how and why stress and anxiety (i.e., worry, fear, panic) commonly co-occur with and contribute to problematic health behaviors and chronic disease. She utilizes an experimental medicine approach to (a) identify cognitive-affective mechanisms that contribute to health behaviors and physical disease, (b) isolate how these mechanisms influence health behaviors “in real time” through use of laboratory methodologies, and in turn (c) develop tailored interventions that target these mechanisms to promote health behavior change and prevent the onset or progression of chronic disease. Dr. Farris is also a licensed clinical psychologist in the state of New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island, and specializes in cognitive-behavioral therapy for the treatment of anxiety and related disorders.

Events

February 3, 2021 | SOBC 101: The Science Of Behavior Change for Psychological Scientists Webinar

Date: Wednesday, February 3, 2021

Time: 2:00 to 3:00 pm ET

Register for the webinar here.

It is well established that health behaviors such as physical activity, sleep, diet, and medication adherence are strong predictors of greater longevity and lower occurrence of adverse medical events. Nevertheless, it remains largely unknown how to develop effective interventions to alter these health behaviors. Research psychologists with training in experimental methodology are uniquely positioned to measure and systematically identify the operative factors underling successful behavior change. A core principle of the National Institutes of Health’s Science Of Behavior Change (SOBC) initiative is that a causal understanding of the means of shifting behaviors may be achieved by following the systematic scientific approach used in experimental medicine: focusing on how a behavioral intervention (e.g., cognitive behavioral therapy) can engage a hypothetical psychological mechanism (e.g., worry) that can be assessed with a valid and reliable measure.

Recording | SOBC Webinar – Roles for Behavioral Science in COVID-19 Vaccination Efforts

Please see the following recording and associated resources from the SOBC Research Network and expert panelists on a webinar focused on the behavioral and social science challenges and solutions to the COVID-19 vaccine uptake/adoption, particularly in underserved populations.

Webinar Recording

SOBC COVID-19 Webinar Information Sheet

Events

February 22-23, 2021 | SOBC Capstone Conference

Ten Years of the Science of Behavior Change Common Fund Program: Celebrating Accomplishments and Looking to the Future
February 22-23, 2021

This capstone research conference will celebrate ten years of the NIH Science of Behavior Change (SOBC) Common Fund Program. The goal of the SOBC program is to advance behavior change research through a focus on mechanisms of change and the integration of basic research with applied/interventional research. The capstone conference will highlight innovative examples of behavior change research consistent with SOBC principles, from use-inspired basic research to mechanisms-focused intervention science. Renowned national and international experts will share their research findings and visions for the future of the science of behavior change. The capstone conference will be virtual, open to the public, recorded, archived, and proceedings summarized in a publicly accessible report.

Registration link here.

News

Ten Years of the Science of Behavior Change Common Fund Program: Celebrating Accomplishments and Looking to the Future February 22-23, 2021

Ten Years of the Science of Behavior Change Common Fund Program: Celebrating Accomplishments and Looking to the Future
February 22-23, 2021