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SOBC 101: Measuring the Mechanisms of Behavior Change

The United States spent $9,892 per capita on health care in 2016, yet it has some of the worst health care outcomes of any high-income nation in the world. Although many chronic diseases and other deadly conditions could be prevented through both public policy and personal behavior, more work is needed to identify interventions that can effectively lower behavioral risk factors such as lack of exercise, overeating, and substance misuse.

 

“Behaviors are among the most important factors that help determine whether people—our patients, our friends—will live a long and healthy life, but few interventions work really well to lead to long-lasting behavior change,” said APS Fellow Michael W. Otto (Boston University).

 

Otto spoke with Jeffrey L. Birk (Columbia University Irving Medical Center), alongside APS Director of Government Relations Andy DeSoto, as part of SOBC 101: The Science of Behavior Change for Psychological Scientists, a webinar recorded February 3.

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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.

 

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

On February 17, 2021, SOBC and the Columbia Roybal Center for Fearless Behavior Change co-hosted a Grand Rounds Webinar with Dr. Samantha Farris who presented on Targeting Fear and Avoidance of Exercise in Cardiac Patients.

 

Presentation Recording: Link here

 

Talk Description: Dr. Farris discussed her translational research on exercise fear-avoidance and the application of this work to cardiac rehabilitation. She defines the construct of ‘interoceptive sensitivity’ and describes its multi-method measurement, and then introduces an exposure-based behavioral intervention to target interoceptive sensitivity and improve physical activity outcomes in cardiac rehabilitation.

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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.

 

 

 

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.

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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.

 

January 6, 2021 | SOBC Webinar – Roles for Behavioral Science in COVID-19 Vaccination Efforts

Please join the SOBC Research Network and expert panelists as we host a webinar focused on the behavioral and social science challenges and solutions to the COVID-19 vaccine uptake/adoption, particularly in underserved populations.

 

The “Big Questions” we hope to address are: What can our understanding of the mechanisms of behavior change contribute to help solve the challenge of broad vaccine uptake/adoption, including in underserved populations? What does existing scientific evidence suggest concerning communication about the science of COVID-19 vaccines and/or the availability/prioritization of vaccines in different communities? What role can/should behavioral science play in preparing the nation for a vaccine?

 

SOBC COVID-19 Webinar Information Sheet

To register for this webinar on January 6, 2021 at 1:30pm EST click here.

 

Celebrating successes and next steps for the Science of Behavior Change Program

We all know first-hand how tough it can be to adopt and maintain healthy behaviors, even though we know that poor health behaviors account for a good portion of the disease burden in the United States.

 

In response to this challenge, NIH launched the Science of Behavior Change (SOBC) Common Fund Program in 2009. The program was established with two major long-term goals: 1) to promote a systematic approach to discovering the mechanisms underlying successful behavior change, and 2) to provide blueprints for developing behavior interventions that could reliably improve health outcomes.

 

Over the past 10 years, under the leadership of co-chairs Dr. Richard J. Hodes, director, NIA; and Dr. Patricia Grady, former director, National Institute of Nursing Research, SOBC has hosted several scientific workshops and annual meetings of investigators and supported 48 awards and administrative supplements. You can learn more about the work of SOBC’s network of researchers in special issues of Behavioural Research and Therapy (February 2018), Health Psychology Review (February 2020), and Health Psychology (September 2020).

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Funding Announcement | Columbia Roybal Center Pilot Award Program: Pilot Grants for Health Behavior Interventions

The NIA-funded Columbia Roybal Center for Fearless Behavior Change will fund one-year pilot studies relevant to developing health behavior interventions for patients who have suffered acute medical events. Our prior research has shown that fear of recurrent events and interoceptive bias (i.e., excessive awareness of physiologic stimuli) are common in these patients and adversely influence health behaviors. Accordingly, our Center seeks to develop interventions that address these fear-associated mechanisms. Relevant study populations include, but are not limited to, patients with stroke, myocardial infarction, cardiac arrest, COPD, heart failure, respiratory failure, COVID-19, or recent diagnosis with cancer or end-stage renal disease. Relevant behavioral outcomes include, but are not limited to, medication adherence, physical activity, sleep, as well as measures of psychological distress and quality of life. The goal of the award is to help investigators obtain preliminary data to support independent grant applications to the NIH or other funders. Applicants are encouraged to follow the experimental medicine approach to intervention development promoted by the Science of Behavior Change.(link is external and opens in a new window)

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