Outlook Winter 2014 Needs Assessment Survey

Your opinion matters! We want to hear from you how to improve Outlook and make it more useful to you and your career. Please answer a few questions to help us make Outlook even better.

Access the short survey here.

Members Spoke and the SBM Board Listened

In September 2013 SBM members were asked to fill out a short survey, the results of which would be used to guide the SBM Board of Directors in a strategic planning session the following month. Thank you for taking the time to convey what you value about your Society and where you think we should head in the immediate and long-range future.

Survey results indicate members would like to see SBM:

• Focus on the increasingly important roles of technology and social media and how their use can lead to novel, exciting research
• Create new methodologies for discovery and implementation, for example, using data mining and adaptive and optimized interventions
• Protect current research funding streams while helping to develop creative new ones
• Develop standards for integrative behavioral healthcare

Achieving progress in these member-identified strategic directions greatly depends on the input and help from SBM members. In the coming months SBM leadership will focus on developing an efficient, technology-mediated system that fosters and coordinates member-generated ideas and input.

Thank you once again for your dedication to SBM.

President's Message

Behavior Matters: The Impact and Reach of Behavioral Medicine Part 3

What a fantastic year it has been as President of the Society of Behavioral Medicine. The society has accomplished so much and is continuing to move forward on many exciting fronts. This Presidential message provides a snapshot of some of these exciting highlights as we prepare for the 35th Annual Society of Behavioral Medicine Meeting and Scientific Sessions celebration on April 23-26th in Philadelphia!

As President, I have had the pleasure of actively engaging in Hill visits and have enjoyed working with dedicated leaders within SBM. In general SBM's policy efforts will continue to be focused on protecting the Prevention and Public Health Fund and NIH funding of Behavioral and Social Sciences related research. We are currently working on a number of brief reports that advocate for primary prevention efforts. In addition, we are developing recommendations for integrating evidence-based lifestyle interventions into healthcare settings. This is a process that is still evolving and which we will continue to share information about on our website at www.sbm.org. These efforts have also been combined with building new collaborations and partnerships with organizations working in conjunction with SBM in on-going policy efforts, some of whose logos appear on our home page! Specifically, these partners are collaborating on many fronts with joint presentations at this year's annual meeting and by participating in ongoing strategic planning efforts.

These policy efforts have also lead the board to approve a new Policy Council that will serve in a number of capacities including as an organizing structure for interacting with the Health Policy Committee (HPC) and, pending member-ratification, a new Civic and Public Engagement Committee, previously referred to as the Public Policy Leadership Group. This year the HPC, led by Marian Fitzgibbon, continues to follow a model, where early career investigators and senior investigators work together to sponsor briefs that have important policy implications. This year the HPC sponsored briefs on the crucial role of community parks on physical activity promotion (led by Sandy Slater and Natalie Colabianchi) and diabetes self-management (led by Ed Fisher, Ben Gerber, and Lisa Sharp). Other briefs currently underway focus on the role of health promoters in diabetes self-management, the role of childcare settings in the prevention of childhood obesity, the impact of physical activity on improving academic performance and cognitive functioning. The HPC is working with Translational Behavioral Medicine to publish the briefs to afford wider dissemination in our advocacy efforts.

The Public Policy Leadership Group, led by Sherry Pagoto, has focused on three critical areas of policy related work this year. First, the committee published two position statements supporting health policies that are relevant to the work of SBM members (CMS policy for obesity treatment, indoor tanning bans in minors). Second, the committee continues to identify critical issues for behavioral medicine researchers that have strong policy implications and that can be responded to rapidly via letters to the editor of peer review journals. Specifically, the committee has published such works in American Journal of Preventive Medicine and New England Journal of Medicine. Third, the committee designed programming for the annual meeting to engage the SBM membership on the importance of increasing the impact of our work for the public and public policy.

This year SBM members were asked to fill out a survey, the results of which would be used to guide the SBM Board of Directors in a strategic planning session. Your responses guided our leadership strategic planning efforts which have lead SBM to prioritize four important goals: 1) focusing on increasing important roles of technology and social media and how their use can lead to novel research advances, 2) creating new methodologies for discovery and implementation, for example, using data mining and adaptive and optimized interventions, 3) protecting current research funding streams while helping to develop creative new ones, and 4) developing standards for integrative behavioral healthcare.

Achieving progress in these member-identified strategic directions greatly depends on the input and help from SBM members. In the coming months SBM leadership will focus on developing an efficient, technology-mediated system that fosters and coordinates member-generated ideas and input led by Brad Hesse, David Ahern, Ellen Beckjord, and Brian Keefe. One of the big changes of the Internet age is the ability for many minds to come together in solving the professional puzzles that confront us all. How do we, as a professional society, strive together in securing a bright and meaningful future for our members? How do we collectively explore new business opportunities, as NIH funding remains under fiduciary pressure? How do we move our ideas from their inception in our individual programs of research into clinical and public health practice? More importantly, what can we do together to ensure that our science contributes to the health and wellbeing of people and patients everywhere? These are all questions that we can, and must, solve together. With that goal in mind, I am happy to announce that we will be using our SBM web presence to facilitate a collective discussion among all members for how we can thrive among the many possible futures that may unfold before us. Soon you will be able to visit our Strategic Planning landing page to download a strategic planning document, and to learn more about how you can make your voice heard in the society's collective action process. Participate in moving SBM forward in strategic ways by weighing in via soon-to-be-established, publically accessible LinkedIn® discussion groups. You'll see what others are saying on a rotating series of important topics confronting behavioral medicine and be able to make your own voice heard on these important topics. Some of the topics that have come up already include: (a) integrating funding streams from public and private sources as business responds to new opportunities in health and healthcare, (b) building a model for promotion and tenure by anticipating value in the changing scientific marketplace, and (c) finding out how behavioral medicine is positioned to lead the field in "big data" analysis as reported in a recent edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association, to name just a few.

Finally I leave you with a few thoughts in anticipation of the upcoming 35th SBM meeting. Keys areas will be outlined at the meeting for building future directions with policy, health care reform, and with broadening our conceptual thinking about health and well-being, as well as with integrating behavioral genetics and neuroscience at a population level. These are exciting times and a number of featured symposia will address both continued challenges with translational reach and practice as well as with the future role of technology and digital health in a time of fast moving advancements.

In summary, this past year has been a great time of continued growth for our organization and we continue to be well positioned for national impact on many fronts not only because of the fantastic leadership we have within the organization but because of the many members of SBM who continue to elevate the field through scientific contributions. The 35th Annual Meeting program is packed with innovations that will continue to lead to improving the health and well-being of individuals, communities and populations.

Keep up the fantastic work! Our health, happiness, and public engagement depend on it!

All the Best,
Dawn

Dawn K. Wilson, Ph.D.
President
Society of Behavioral Medicine

Register for the 2014 SBM Annual Meeting - Early Bird Deadline is March 25

The 2014 Annual Meeting is rapidly approaching. Register before March 25 to receive the Early Bird discount.

Sign up for Pre-Conference Sessions

Workshops, Courses and Seminars offered at the 2014 Annual Meeting will no doubt enhance your meeting experience. Sign up early to reserve your spot - sign up for the pre-conference sessions on your registration form, or if you've already registered call the national office at 414-918-3156 to add pre-conference sessions to your registration. Here is a sneak peek of some of these sessions:

Workshops

• Apply the RE-AIM Framework to Intervention Planning and Evaluation
• Multi-Morbidities, Health and Self Management: Challenges and Opportunities

Courses

• Boot Camp for Building Integrated Primary Care Behavioral Health Training Programs
• Integrated Care for Treatment of Obesity: Location, Logistics, & Reimbursement
• Learner-Centered Tools and Techniques for Teaching Behavioral Medicine

Seminars

• Working with Acceptance, Mindfulness, and Values in Chronic Pain: An Introduction and Skills Building Seminar
• NIH Grant Writing Seminar for Early Career Researchers
• How to Create an Effective Professional Social Media Presence

Book your Housing and Travel

Rooms fill up at quickly so book your hotel room early at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown to ensure you can stay at the conference hotel for easy access to all SBM sessions. When making your travel reservations, be sure to stay through Saturday afternoon so you don't miss the Saturday sessions.

Join your colleagues and enjoy some breakfast sweets in honor of SBM's 35th anniversary during the Saturday morning Business Meeting and Awards Ceremony, 7:30 - 8:30 am. Then be sure to enjoy paper sessions from 8:40 - 10:10am and the poster hall from 10:10 am - 11:30 am as well as:

Master Lectures: 10:20 am - 11:05 am
Carl W. Lejuez, PhD - Vulnerabilities Underlying the Development and Maintenance of Substance Use Problems
Kevin S. Masters, PhD - Religious and Spiritual Culture: Implications from the Lab and the Clinic For Building Bridges When You Don't Speak The Language

Closing Keynote Address: 11:30 am - 12:30 pm
Colleen McBride, PhD - Prospects for Breakthroughs in Behavioral Science: The Role of Genomics

Preliminary Program Available Online

Browse the preliminary program and plan out the sessions you'd like to attend. Conference attendees will again be able to personalize their itineraries using the Annual Meeting mobile app, which will hit stores in late March.

Engage Now, During and After the Annual Meeting

Use social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to connect with colleagues before, during and after the conference.

• When using Twitter make sure to include #SBM2014 in your tweets about the conference.
• If you are presenting a poster at the meeting, consider entering the 2014 Video Contest for increasing exposure of your research.

Support Student-member Attendance at SBM 2014!
Donate Here

Two years ago SBM student member and Chair of the Student Special Interest Group Julie Cessna submitted her poster abstract - with mixed feelings. "I really valued the chance to present my work and learn more about the field of behavioral medicine," she recalls, "but I worried about coming up with the money to cover all the meeting costs." Her institution provided some support, for which she was grateful, but still, even though the meeting is reasonably priced, travel and lodging expenses add up, she noted. "At home," Julie said, "I can live on ramen noodles when I have to, but on the road . . . not so easy!"

When she discovered that SBM offers a number of meeting-related student volunteer opportunities in exchange for a registration fee reimbursement, she jumped at the chance. Unfortunately she did not get a slot; the number of applicants exceeded the number of slots. Always one to persevere, Julie applied for a slot again last year. "I was lucky enough to receive one," she said, "and appreciated not only the financial help but the opportunity to serve and give back to SBM."

Sequestration has cut many federal research grants, and many students, like Julie, face the prospect that their funds won't quite cover meeting costs. So, this year, SBM would like to expand the number of student volunteer slots. But we need your help!

IF YOU DONATE: WE'LL CREATE MORE VOLUNTEER SLOTS FOR SBM STUDENTS! Every dollar donated will help us reach the $156 needed to award an additional student volunteer slot. More dollars = more slots = more student attendance at SBM 2014!

Donate Here

Aging SIG Update

Jessica Krok, Aging SIG Outlook Liaison
Reginald Tucker-Seeley, ScD, Aging SIG Co-Chair
Sara Folta, Aging SIG Co-Chair

Greetings from the SBM Aging Special Interest Group (SIG)! We hope you had a good holiday season and are now gearing up for the 35th Annual Meeting of SBM. As you are preparing your schedule, we would like to highlight the Aging SIG student award and aging-related presentations that may of interest to members of SBM and for those that currently work with older adult populations or are interested in this exciting field.

Presentations at SBM by Aging SIG members

Posters
Doctoral candidate, Christina Moldovan, is presenting her research poster entitled "The Effects of Physical Activity, Education, and Spirituality on Premorbid Intelligence in Healthy Older Adults" during Poster Session B on April 24th from 6:40 to 8:00 PM.

Doctoral student, Susan Aguiñaga, MS, with her mentor, Dr. David Marquez, is presenting her research poster entitled, "Latin Dance and Health Education: Influence on Cognitive Function" during Poster Session C on April 25th from 6:25 to 7:45PM.

Elizabeth Gonzalez, PhD, is presenting her research entitled, "Appraisal of Problem Behaviors, Quality of Relationship and Role Strain in Family Caregivers" during Poster Session C on April 25th from 6:25 to 7:45PM.

Papers
A 3rd year BSc student, Louisia Starnino, is presenting her paper, "Psychological Vulnerability and Pathological Aging: Surprising Associations between Telomere Length and Psychological Burden." during Paper Session 16 - Stress and Health: Biobehavioral Mechanisms" from 3:45 to 5:15 PM

Awards at SBM

In addition to the outstanding research presentations at SBM, the Aging SIG offers the Outstanding Aging Research Award Graduate Student Poster Award. The award is available to student members of the Aging SIG conducting aging related research. This award is designed to stimulate the participation of students conducting aging-related research in SBM and to highlight this work within SBM.

If you are a graduate student conducting aging-related research, you are encouraged to apply for this award. The recipient will be recognized for their scientific contribution to the field of aging and behavioral medicine and will receive a monetary award of $150.00 and a plaque. A brief summary of the recipient's abstract for the 2014 Annual Meeting will also be featured in the Fall 2014 issue of the Aging SIG Newsletter. The submitted abstract can be a poster that was submitted (and accepted) for the SBM annual meeting. The selected student must attend the Aging SIG Business Meeting/Breakfast roundtable at the SBM Annual Meeting to present his/her poster.

Eligibility:

• Be a current SBM student member;
• attend the 35th Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions of the Society of Behavioral Medicine in Philadelphia, PA;
• attend the Aging SIG Breakfast Meeting at SBM Annual Meeting (see below)
• be the primary (first) author on the abstract; and
• currently conducting aging-related research.
• must be a current graduate student.

Please note that the Aging SIG business meeting, in conjunction with the SBM Annual Meeting, will be on Friday 25 April 2014 from 7:30-8:30 AM (breakfast roundtable). We look forward to seeing you in Philadelphia!

The Cancer SIG welcomes you to Philadelphia

Gozde Ozakinci, PhD, Cancer SIG Outlook Liaison
Michael A. Diefenbach, PhD, Cancer SIG Chair

The Cancer SIG is looking forward to the 35th Annual Meeting and Scientific Sessions in Philadelphia! The program will include many important sessions spanning the entire length of the conference such as workshops, symposia, roundtables and midday meetings.  Here is a brief round-up of the sessions that are sponsored by the Cancer SIG:  Wed, April 23, 2014, Course 201: Cancer SIG Mock Grant Review; Course 701: Cancer SIG and American Psychosocial Oncology Society Course: Palliative and End of Life Care: Research and Clinical Perspectives. Thursday, April 24, 2014, Symposium 11: Religion, Spirituality and Health Outcomes in Cancer: Three Meta-Analyses. Friday, April 25, 2014, Breakfast Roundtable: Cancer SIG Business Meeting; Symposium 32: Behavioral Medicine Interventions and Outcomes in Pediatric Cancer Survivorship; Midday Meeting: Cocharane Collaboration Informational Session with Kay Dickersin, PhD; Midday Meeting: Cancer Sig and Health Decision Making SIG presents: Education & Decision Aids to Advance Health: A showcase of the Latest Software. In addition, please attend the poster sessions on each day that feature many cancer-relevant presentations as well as the SBM business meeting on Saturday morning.

My colleague Gozde Ozakinci, PhD, wants to take this opportunity to highlight a recent development that fits the theme of this Annual Meeting: ‘Behavior matters’. Some of you will be aware that in 2010, the UK Government set up The Behavioural Insights Team (commonly referred to as the ‘Nudge Unit’). The remit of the Team is applying research in social and behavioral sciences to ‘find innovative ways of encouraging, enabling and supporting people to make better choices for themselves’ (1). The team is comprised of 13 members with academic research background in behavioral sciences, experimental methodology, policy making, and marketing and led by Dr David Halpern who has a psychology background.

It is worth noting that the first discussion paper of the Team which came out at the end of 2010 was on applying behavioral insights to health (2). It highlights seven case studies using the MINDSPACE framework (3) including smoking, physical activity, and alcohol use - all health behaviors related to cancer. It is too soon to tell whether this Team’s efforts will be successful in changing the behaviors of UK citizens. Scotland, on the other hand, is already using the principles of nudging by introducing alcohol minimum pricing to tackle alcohol related public health issues (4). The Alcohol Minimum Pricing Act that was passed in June 2012 sets a minimum 50 pence (approximately .82 cents) for a unit of alcohol meaning that the more alcohol a drink contains, the more expensive it will be.

And now, the Nudge Unit will have an equivalent in the US Government! Maya Shankar, PhD, (Psychology) will lead a small group of scientists to lead a similar Unit in the US Government (5).  It seems like there are emerging opportunities for behavioral scientists to make an impact in health policies. According to Decision Science News, the Team will be staffed by 4-5 experts in behavioral science, experimental design and evaluation to build federal capacity to scale evidence-based behavioral interventions. 

What all this will mean for those of us who work in the domain of developing interventions to encourage cancer preventative behaviors is still unknown. But the increasing recognition of behavioral sciences in affecting health behavior change is a sign of progress.

1. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/behavioural-insights-team
2. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/applying-behavioural-insight-to-health-behavioural-insights-team-paper
3. http://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/sites/default/files/publications/MINDSPACE-Practical-guide-final-Web_1.pdf
4. http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Health/Services/Alcohol/minimum-pricing
5. http://www.decisionsciencenews.com/2013/07/15/u-s-behavioral-insights-team/

Child and Family Health SIG Update

Danielle Wischenka, PhD Candidate, Child and Family Health SIG Outlook Liaison
Ann M. Davis, PhD, MPH, ABPP, Child and Family Health SIG member
Bernard Fuemmeler, PhD, MPH, Child and Family Health SIG Chair

Aristotle helped to explain the nature of love; and among the different natures was philia, or the type of love and affection one has for one’s friend, business partner or political ally. This was inspiration for the name of William Penn’s new city Philadelphia, which was the result of a peaceful treaty with the Lenape. It is therefore fitting that Philadelphia will be the location of both the APA Division 54 Society for Pediatric Psychology (SPP) meeting in March and Child and Family Health (CFH) SIG activities at the next Society for Behavior Medicine in April. SPP and CFH share an ongoing friendship and we hope to strengthen this intersociety networking over the coming years. The purpose of this informational article is to share with you some of the activities to look forward to at the upcoming SBM and SPP meetings.

There will be several presentations at SBM that have a CFH focus, and we hope you will visit each of them. We’d like to highlight the following in particular: 1) “Case studies in strategic science to inform childhood obesity policy interventions,” 2) “Behavioral medicine interventions and outcomes in pediatric cancer survivors,” 3) “Adolescent, alcohol and STI/HIV risk: Exploring the influence of alcohol use on sexual behavior across context, population, and level of analysis,” 4) “A life course perspective on stigma and discrimination: Patterns of change and consequences for mental and physical health.” Be sure, also, to check out the featured panel discussion: “Using health policy to successfully reduce childhood obesity rates: The Philadelphia story.” These talks, along with numerous posters presentations, promise to be informative opportunities to learn about cutting-edge research in our field.

In addition, please join us for our SIG’s Breakfast Roundtable business meeting and social event on Thursday, April 24th from 7:30 am to 8:30 am. The CFH SIG Student Award and the Award for Outstanding Research in Child and Family Health will be presented, highlighting examples of excellence in research conducted by those in our field. We thank all our advisory board (Drs. Ken Tercyak, Pam Behrman, Nataliya Zelikovsky, and Ms. Danielle Wischenka) who helped to review the numerous excellent submissions. At the meeting, our SIG will host Dr. Sean Phipps from St. Jude who will receive our annual award for outstanding achievements in the field of pediatric behavioral medicine and deliver our annual invited address. The CFH SIG morning meeting promises to be an exciting opportunity to network and catch up on the latest happenings of the SIG. We welcome all who are interested, so please join us!

As you may know, the Society for Pediatric Psychology now has annual national meetings (called the Society for Pediatric Psychology Annual Conference, or SPPAC). The entire conference program will soon be available on the SPP website. The conference will be on March 27-29, and as mentioned above, takes place in Philadelphia this year. The conference theme is "Pediatric Psychology: From Infancy to Young Adulthood." Much of the programming will be of interest to this group, but to highlight a few symposia, Monaghan et al will present Readiness for Transition to Adult Medical Care and Simons et al. will present Resilience Within Reach: Promoting Positive Adaptation to Pain and Pain-Related Stress in Children and Adolescents. Notably, a keynote address will be given by Captain Steven Hirschfeld, MD, PhD, of the Commissioned Corps of the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) who is currently director of the National Children's Study regarding his project which includes over 100,000 children.

The CFH SIG is growing fast and we welcome input from SBM members about ideas and opportunities that could advance our mission. If you are interested in becoming a member of the SIG, please contact Ben Stumpf, Program Manager for the Society of Behavioral Medicine at bstumpf@sbm.org. SIG members are also welcome to submit ideas and suggestions for SIG-related activities through our listserv: childfamily_sig@list.sbm.org. For more information, check us out online (https://www.sbm.org/sig/child_family/). Also, please feel free to contact our Chair, Dr. Bernard Fuemmeler (bernard.fuemeler@duke.edu) for additional information and if you are interested in becoming more involved in the SIG.

The Society of Pediatric Psychology continues to grow as well. We are especially strong in our commitment to serving students and early career professionals. We have seen especially strong growth in our Special Interest Group program, and now have over 13 SIGs in SPP! If you are not already a member of SPP, we would love for you to join. And, in case you didn’t know this, you can join SPP without becoming a member of APA. To join SPP, simply apply online at https://www.division54member.com/user/register. Also, be sure to check out our SIGs, and join up in one or two of those – they’re a great way to get involved in the Division, and there is no additional cost for joining a SIG. A list of Division 54 SIGs can be found on the website at http://www.apadivisions.org/division-54/sigs/index.aspx.  For any membership related questions, feel free to contact the current Member at Large for Membership, Dr. Ann M. Davis (adavis6@kumc.edu) for additional information.

See you in the city of brotherly love!

Update: Complementary and Integrative Medicine Special Interest Group (CIM SIG)

Amanda J. Shallcross, ND, MPH, Complementary and Integrative Medicine SIG Outlook Liaison

We are looking forward to the 35th SBM Annual Meeting, April 23-26, in Philadelphia. This year's program boasts a Complementary and Integrative Medicine (CIM) SIG breakfast roundtable, as well as several exciting CIM-related seminars and presentations. First, the CIM SIG roundtable discussion/business meeting is planned for Thursday, April 24th from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. All CIM SIG members are welcome to attend. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn about CIM programming and to network with colleagues in the field.

Second, two CIM-related seminars on acceptance-based behavioral interventions will cover the theoretical and empirical support of these treatments (Seminar 04) as well as an opportunity to build clinical skills (Seminar 07). Seminar 04: "Acceptance-Based Behavioral Intervention for Health-Related Behavior Change: Theory and Clinical Applications" will provide an in-depth consideration of the theoretical principles underpinning acceptance-based behavioral approaches (e.g., Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)). Empirical support from several randomized controlled trials will be reviewed. Five dimensions of clinical application to behavioral medicine will also be highlighted: acceptance (ability to tolerate unpleasant internal experiences, such as urges, fatigue, anxiety), willingness (ability to choose valued actions even if they produce or maintain unpleasant internal states), defusion (ability to appreciate thoughts and feelings for what they are and therefore to uncouple internal experiences from behaviors), mindful decision making (nonjudgmental awareness of experiences and moment-by-moment choices), and values clarification (clarity of the personal values that motivate behavior). Seminar 07: "Working with Acceptance, Mindfulness, and Values in Chronic Pain: An Introduction and Skills Building" will provide a brief overview of the theoretical model underlying Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. This seminar will include opportunities for clinical practice such as experiential, skill building, and case conceptualization exercises with training modalities including include a mix of didactic instruction, modeling, and practice/role play. Opportunities for consultation, instruction, and feedback will also be provided. Seminars will be conducted on Wednesday, April 23rd, from 12-6 p.m. Admission is by paid ticket only and seating is limited. Full/Associate/Emeritus Members: $125; Student/Trainees or Transitional Members: $75; Non-Members: $175.

Third, Paper Session 20 will discuss "Cancer Fatigue: The Influence of Treatment, Medication and Mindfulness." Specifically, Dr. Shelley Johns will present results from a randomized controlled trial examining the effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for persistently fatigued cancer survivors. Additionally, Paper Session 21 "Physical Activity Interventions among Older Adults" will feature a presentation by Dr. Neha Gothe on the effects of an 8-week hatha yoga intervention on executive function in older adults. These two paper sessions will be presented on Friday, April 25th from 3:35-5:15 p.m.

Finally, a poster entitled, "Using Mindfulness Meditation to Improve Pain Management in Combat Veterans with Traumatic Brain Injury," will present results from a pilot study that examined the effectiveness of mindfulness (iRest®) for managing chronic pain in U.S. veterans with traumatic brain injuries. This poster (C-137) will be presented on April 25, from 6:25-7:45 p.m.

Together, these scientific presentations substantiate a biopsychosocial model of health care. This model, which integrates psychological, biological, and sociological processes, directly supports the primary objective of CIM SIG, which is to investigate and promote the use of evidence-based therapeutic interventions that focus on the whole person.

Integrated Primary Care SIG Update

Kristine M. Diaz, PsyD; Stacy Ogbeide, PsyD; Danielle Arigo, PhD - IPC SIG Outlook Liaisons

The Integrated Primary Care Special Interest Group is committed to the promotion and enhancement of the delivery of evidence-based behavioral health care in primary care settings. In this edition of the IPC SIG News, we will focus on the call for contributions in educational resources in health education that is likely to be of value to all SBM members. Please email Mark E. Vogel, PhD, IPC SIG Chair, at vogel1@msu.edu if you are interested in joining the IPC SIG.

Contributions in Educational Resources in Health Education

Healthcare Professionals (HPs) have many opportunities to demonstrate the importance of their area of specialty in various integrated healthcare settings. Through the provision of health education and clinical supervision to health professional students, HPs prepare future health care providers to thrive in a diverse healthcare workforce. HPs contributions in health education and training of health care professionals are becoming increasingly pertinent as our healthcare system moves towards a modern Interprofessional team-based approach. The expertise of HPs in medicine is being recognized by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) in a call for submissions to MedEdPORTAL. The creation of online repositories for educational resources through three services of MedEdPORTAL-Publications, iCollaborative, and the CE Directory-opens a pathway for healthcare professionals, particularly SBM members, to disseminate instructional materials in health education.

MedEdPORTAL has partnered with various organizations to offer an extensive online resource in health education. Most notably, the AAMC and the American Psychological Association (APA) have announced a partnership to provide medical students, faculty, and other health professionals with free access to a collection of psychological science resources designed to improve patient care. A partnership for MedEdPORTAL Publications with Georgia Regents University led to the release of the Directory and Repository of Educational Assessment Measures (DREAM), a source for health education assessments for health educators, educational researchers, and program/curriculum evaluation. In addition to psychological science and health education assessments, MedEdPORTAL is at the forefront in the contribution in Interprofessional Education (IPE) in healthcare. A portal for IPE resources is available for those HPs working in IPE in academic health centers. While only a few areas of health education have been highlighted, there are many other specialty areas interested in submissions seeking educational resources and research.

In conclusion, MedEdPORTAL serves as an opportunity for HPs to contribute their scholarly activity in health education and educational research. At a time when there is an increasing need for health education to prepare health care professionals for an ever-changing medical climate, MedEdPORTAL provides HPs the chance to add to the literature to impact medicine and, ultimately, healthcare, through the continued advancement of education and research in integrated healthcare. Therefore, IPC SIG encourages SBM members to consider adding to this growing body of online educational resources at https://www.mededportal.org.

Obesity and Eating Disorders SIG Update

Jessica G. LaRose, PhD, Obesity and Eating Disorders SIG Outlook Liaison

The Obesity and Eating Disorders (OED) SIG is committed to fostering interdisciplinary research and training in the areas of obesity and eating disorders, and strives to support researchers and practitioners to be leaders in these areas. Many significant events have taken place since our meeting last year that are relevant to our mission. The American Medical Association announced that it will officially recognize obesity as a medical disease,¹ and there have been strong movements toward the use of person-first language when describing individuals with obesity.² In addition, new guidelines were recently published on the management of overweight and obesity in adults.³ In light of these recent events, the landscape for the treatment of obesity in clinical settings is rapidly changing. Our hope is that these changes will allow for increased access and reimbursement for evidence-based, integrated care for the millions of individuals with obesity. Under the leadership of our SIG leaders, Drs. Stephanie Fitzpatrick and Amy Gorin, our SIG is sponsoring a timely course at the upcoming meeting in Philadelphia titled "Integrated Care for Treatment of Obesity: Location, Logistics & Reimbursement." Presenters will include Drs. Gary Bennett, Rodger Kessler, Catherine Champagne, Elizabeth Estrada, Robert Kushner and Janelle Coughlin, and Jennifer Ventrelle. The course is Wednesday April 23rd from 12:00-2:45pm and will provide attendees with an overview as to how to develop and sustain an integrated care team focused on the treatment of patients with obesity. It promises to be an exceptional opportunity for those interested in developing or improving upon integrated care teams, and will address topics such as reimbursement and location of care that are particularly salient given recent policy and healthcare changes.

In addition to the Integrated Care course, the OED SIG is sponsoring several other events that should be of considerable interest. On Friday, we are sponsoring a symposium entitled "Mental Health Considerations for Optimizing Behavioral Weight Management Interventions with Obese Veterans" and will co-sponsor a debate at our midday meeting titled "Different Types of Behavior Require Different Theories to Explain Them." The debate is being organized as a joint effort between the OED SIG, the Theories and Techniques of Behavior Change Interventions (TTBCI) SIG, the Multiple Health Behavior Change (MHBC) SIG, and the Physical Activity SIG. Speakers will debate whether theories should be applied to all behaviors, or rather, whether theories should be designed to apply to a specific behavior or set of behaviors. Additionally, be sure to join us for our Breakfast Roundtable and business meeting Friday morning. We will be discussing relevant sessions at this year's meeting and soliciting interest for participation on an OED Executive Board. We're also excited to continue our tradition of recognizing outstanding research abstracts from our graduate student members. Last year we launched the Obesity and Eating Disorders SIG Graduate Student Research Award, and will offer these awards again this year. Three recipients will be selected based on the scientific merit and implications of their work. We are excited to offer these monetary awards as a reflection of our commitment to our young investigator and student members, and hope you will join us for the presentation of awards.

Of note, there are a host of other obesity and weight related sessions slated for the upcoming meeting. The Thursday schedule includes several symposia of interest, including "Mental Health Matters: Screening, Participation and Outcomes of Weight Management Programs for Veterans with Mental Health Conditions" and "Weight Loss in the Age of Social Media: Twitter, Facebook and Blogging." In addition, there is a paper session that will present findings related to social dynamics in dieting and weight loss, and two panel discussions titled "The Inclusion Challenge: How Can General Weight Loss Programs Accommodate the Needs of Women with Mobility Impairments" and "Funding Opportunities and Strategies for Diet, Physical Activity and Obesity Prevention." Friday is another busy day with many weight related activities on the schedule, including a Panel Discussion addressing policy efforts to reduce childhood obesity entitled "Using Health Policy to Successfully Reduce Childhood Obesity Rates: The Philadelphia Story." Later that afternoon, be sure to check out "Case Studies in Strategic Science to Inform Childhood Obesity Policy Interventions," and two paper sessions focused on very relevant topics, including the use of text messaging to promote physical activity and weight loss, as well as factors associated with weight loss maintenance." Don't leave early because Saturday morning there are several other paper sessions scheduled that are sure to be of interest - these sessions will focus on evaluation of weight loss interventions, multi-component intervention trials, and diet, activity and obesity among youth.

We are excited about the upcoming meeting and all the sessions available this year for those interested in obesity and weight related research. We look forward to seeing you in Philadelphia!

1. American Medical Association. http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/news/news/2013/2013-06-18-new-ama-policies-annual-meeting.page
2. Obesity Action Coalition. http://www.obesityaction.org/weight-bias-and-stigma/people-first-language-for-obesity
3. Jensen MD, Ryan DH, Apovian CM, Ard JD, Comuzzie AG, Donato KA, Hu FB, Hubbard VS, Jakicic JM, Kushner RF, Loria C, Millen BE, Nonas CA, Pi-Sunyer FX, Stevens J, Stevens VJ, Wadden TA, Wolfe BM, Yanovski SZ. 2013 AHA/ACC/TOS guideline for the management of overweight and obesity in adults: a report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines and The Obesity Society. Circulation. 2013.

Measurement Issues of Spirituality and Health

Amy Wachholtz, PhD, Spirituality and Health SIG Co-chair
John Salsman, PhD, Spirituality & Health SIG Co-chair
Crystal Park, PhD, Spirituality & Health Past Chair

Religiousness and spirituality (R/S) are increasingly shown to be related to myriad aspects of health and well-being. The increased interest in the links among health and psychology of religion has led to increased research in the field and a deeper exploration of R/S. As researchers increasingly include these variables, they face a bewildering array of methods and measures. The proliferation has led to a number of surveys which vary widely in psychometric quality and conceptual validity.

Pain & R/S

The use of religion and spirituality to cope with health issues is increasing (Wachholtz & Sambamoorthi, 2011). Pain is a complex multidimensional experience that has biological, psychological, social and spiritual implications, especially in the context of chronic pain. Even the etiology and type of pain can create different psychosocial changes that significantly impact the pain experience. Previous research has shown that religious and spiritual beliefs, and the trajectory of spiritual growth, are different among individuals with pain compared to the general population (Rippentrop, Altmaier, Chen, Found, & Keffala, 2005). Therefore, when assessing religion and spirituality among pain patients, it is crucial to tailor the assessment to the patient population. One of the crucial areas to distinguish is between pain and suffering. These two areas are often conflated and unfortunately treated as a single entity (and not infrequently treatment involves opioids to treat both). Identifying areas of psychological and existential suffering first, before identifying pain levels, can help ensure cleaner research outcomes and better treatment protocols.

Cancer & R/S

Recent reviews underscore the relationship of R/S with important health outcomes in cancer such as mortality, morbidity, psychological adjustment, and quality of life (Fitchett & Canada, 2010; Peteet & Balboni, 2013; Visser, Garssen, & Vingerhoets, 2010). In the last decade, published studies of R/S in cancer have more than tripled from the amount published in the prior decade. Despite this increasing interest in R/S in cancer patient cohorts, current research methods can limit our understanding of R/S as a predictor of outcomes. There is substantial heterogeneity with respect to clinical and demographic characteristics among persons with cancer and this affects our ability specify the relationship between R/S and outcomes in cancer patients. Moreover, the relevance of particular dimensions of R/S to health outcomes varies across the condition. Thus, it is important to select targeted assessments based on the different needs of individuals at the stages of care: prevention, early detection, diagnosis, treatment, survivorship, or end of life.

Cardiovascular Disease & R/S

Many aspects of Religiousness and Spirituality (R/S) have been shown to be important factors in the domains of cardiovascular health and illness. For example, some types of R/S are related to cardiovascular risk factors such as diet, BMI, and hypertension, while others are more closely associated with dealing effectively with cardiac illness, including coping, adherence, and end-of-life issues (Masters & Hooker, 2013). However, the types of R/S that are most relevant to these different health endpoints differ. It is important for researchers to keep in mind that R/S comprises a range of specific constructs, ranging from denominational affiliation and service attendance, to beliefs and attributions, to relationships with God and one's congregation. Future research on this topic must be based on stronger conceptualizations of the particular aspects of R/S that would be theoretically expected to link to the specific aspects of cardiovascular health or illness under study. One useful source for studying multiple dimensions is the NIA/Fetzer BMMRS (Fetzer Institute/National Institute on Aging Working Group, 1999), which can be found at: http://www.gem-beta.org/public/DownloadMeasure.aspx?mid=1155

Future Directions

Much remains to be accomplished in the field of Spirituality and Health. Future research is focused on solidifying the conceptual domains that are the most critical to physical and mental health for specific medical conditions, and we must be thoughtful about the development of any new measures. There is also an effort to educate researchers interested in adding spiritual or religious questions to their health psychology protocol to ensure that psychometrically valid measures assessing accurate domains are used as part of high quality research in the field.

References

Fetzer Institute/National Institute on Aging Working Group. (1999). Multidimensional measurement of religiousness/spirituality for use in health research: A report of the Fetzer Institute/National Institute on aging working group. Kalamazoo: John E. Fetzer Institute.

Fitchett, G., & Canada, A. L. (2010). The role of religion/spirituality in coping with cancer: Evidence, assessment, and intervention. In W. S. B. J. C. Holland, P. B. Jacobson, M. S. Lederberg, M. J. Loscalzo, & R McCorkle (Ed.), Psycho-Oncology, 2nd edition (pp. 440-446). New York: Oxford University Press.

Masters, K. S., & Hooker, S. A. (2013). Religion, spirituality, and health. In R. F. Paloutzian & C. L. Park (Eds.), Handbook of the psychology of religion and spirituality (2nd ed.) (pp. 519-539). New York: Guilford.

Peteet, J., & Balboni, M. (2013). Spirituality and religion in oncology. CA Cancer J Clin, 63(4), 280-289.

Rippentrop, E., Altmaier, E. M., Chen, J. J., Found, E. M., & Keffala, V. J. (2005). The relationship between religion/spirituality and physical health, mental health, and pain in a chronic pain population. Pain, 116(3), 311-321.

Visser, A., Garssen, B., & Vingerhoets, A. (2010). Spirituality and well-being in cancer patients: a review. Psychooncology, 19(6), 565-572.

Wachholtz, A., & Sambamoorthi, U. (2011). National Trends in Prayer Use as a Coping Mechanism for Health concerns: Changes From 2002 to 2007. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 3(2), 67-77.

Negotiating freedom of expression and professional controversy:
The use and misuse of social media among scientific researchers

Jennifer L. Moss, MSPH, Student SIG Outlook liaison
Phapichaya Chaoprang Herrera, MA, Student SIG Outlook liaison

Social media serves a dual purpose for scientists by facilitating both personal and professional communication. For example, researchers use social media to network with friends or other scientists, to engage with the public or students, to curate online materials, and to respond to current events. However, a debate is emerging about social media use among scientific researchers, pitting researchers' right to express themselves against the expectation that they will represent themselves in ways that their institution finds acceptable. Members of the SBM Student SIG should keep in mind potential consequences of their social media use as they decide how to develop an online presence.

For researchers, if an institution finds some social media activity objectionable, even tenure and the support of faculty unions or free speech organizations may be inadequate to protect them. For example, recently, a professor faced public and professional censure after tweeting his doubts about the willpower of obese doctoral applicants to complete a dissertation. While the sentiments communicated by this tweet were upsetting and controversial, free-speech activists claim that the professors' rights were violated by their punishments. However, their reprimands still stand.

Many scientists cherish their freedom to disseminate their research and engage in intellectual discussions online, as well as their freedom to express personal opinions via social media. Free-speech advocates insist that everyone has the right to share their views without undue punishment. However, the reality is that scientists on social media can face criticism from the general public, other researchers, or their own institutions. Members of academia, especially students and early career scientists, will need to decide for themselves how to curate an online presence that meets their personal objectives without unduly endangering their careers.

With the 35th SBM Annual Meeting in Philadelphia approaching, we are looking forward to sharing our thoughts and interests on such topics with other rising professionals! This year we have several events lined up, and we are hoping that you will find time to visit each of them. Particularly, we would like to highlight the following symposia: Juggling Research Interests Symposium (4/24, 7:30-8:30am), and Finding Grants for Graduate Students (4/25, 7:30-8:30am). Breakfast will be served! In addition, the Student SIG will meet on 4/25, 12:25-1:15pm, to explore Reading Terminal Market.

There is also an opportunity to join the Behavioral Medicine Internship Meet and Greet on 4/25, 11:25-12:25pm. The Student SIG will host a social event at Smoking Betty's on 4/24, 8:00-10:00pm. Appetizers are included! On the behalf of the Student SIG committee, we would like to invite anyone interested to attend these events. See you all in Philadelphia!

Technology SIG Update

Heather Cole-Lewis, PhD, MPH, Technology SIG Outlook Liaison
Timothy Bickmore, PhD, Technology SIG Chair
Eric Heckler, PhD, Technology SIG Co-Chair

The Technology SIG has had an exciting year and is eager to gather at the SBM Annual Meeting in Philadelphia.

The mission of the Technology SIG is to ensure that SBM is fully utilizing technology to improve behavior and health, keeping members of SBM abreast of opportunities that exist, and leading the conversation on theories, methods, and applications of technology to behavioral science. This year, we elected to change our name from the Behavioral Informatics SIG to the Technology SIG in order to better showcase to others in the SBM community our objectives and encourage cross-disciplinary collaboration.

In fulfillment of our mission, members of the Technology SIG have been busy planning an array of technology-related events for the Annual Meeting. Topics include building better eHealth interventions, leveraging meaningful use guidelines to accelerate patient engagement and health behavior change, facilitating and sustaining academic-industry partnerships, and utilizing wearable sensors for research, among others. Additionally, a panel discussion entitled "Resolving the Tower of Babel Problem in Behavioral Theories: Benefits of and Developments in Behavioral Ontologies to Support Interventions," will provide updates on the behavioral ontology initiative undertaken in collaboration with the SBM Theories and Techniques of Behavior Change Interventions SIG.

To ensure that you do not miss the technology-related activities at the Annual Meeting, please join us for breakfast roundtable meetings (also known as "SBM Tech Madness") at 7:30am on April 24th and 25th. SBM Tech Madness is an opportunity to gain an overview of the day's technology-related events as speakers are invited to give brief previews of their talks. If you are presenting on a technology-related topic at the Annual Meeting and would like to showcase your presentation at Tech Madness, please contact Tim Bickmore (bickmore@ccs.neu.edu).

An additional objective for the Technology SIG is to build relationships with other organizations in order to: 1) establish SBM as a leading place for other behavioral/health oriented organizations to turn for leadership on the best ways to use technology in their research and practice; and 2) cultivate relations with other organizations that might have complementary skills to SBM to ensure our organization is appropriately linked with the technologists, computer scientists, and engineers required to fulfill our mission. In fulfillment of this goal, the Technology SIG is collaborating with the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA). Additionally, this year at the Annual Meeting, several members from the Human Computer Interaction (HCI) community will be joining us for a workshop entitled, "Building a Better e-Intervention: A Workshop on How to Create Usable, Enjoyable, and Effective e-Health User Experiences." The purpose of this event is to introduce the discipline of HCI and teach fundamental strategies for designing technologies that can fit into a person's daily life. Further, the speakers will provide linkages between HCI methods and behavioral science methods and theories.

As evident from this brief update, there is a great deal of opportunity and excitement about how technology can support and enhance health behavior and health outcomes. The Technology SIG looks forward to continuing to interact with others, within and outside of SBM. See you at the Annual Meeting!

Newest Articles from Annals of Behavioral Medicine and Translational Behavioral Medicine

SBM's two journals, Annals of Behavioral Medicine and Translational Behavioral Medicine: Practice, Policy, Research (TBM), continuously publish articles online, many of which become available before issues are printed.

SBM members who have paid their 2014 membership dues are able to access the full text of all Annals and TBM articles via the SBM website by following the steps below.

1. Go to the Members Only section of the SBM website: https://www.sbm.org/membership/members
2. Log in with your username and password
3. Click on the Journals link (listed fourth in the list of Member Benefits)
4. Click on the title of the journal which you would like to electronically access

To check if you are a current member of SBM, or if you are having trouble accessing the journals online, please contact the national office at info@sbm.org or 414-918-3156.

The three most recently published Annals and TBM articles online are listed below.

Annals of Behavioral Medicine

An Ecological Momentary Assessment of Lapse Occurrences in Dieters
Authors: Heather C. McKee, PhD, Nikos Ntoumanis, PhD, Ian M. Taylor, PhD
Abstract:
Purpose: The aim of this study is to investigate the factors related to dietary lapse occurrence in a community sample of dieters.
Methods: An ecological momentary assessment (EMA) methodology, via mobile phone-based diaries, was employed to record dietary lapse occurrences in a group of dieters (N = 80; M age =41.21 ± 15.60 years; M BMI = 30.78 ± 7.26) over 7 days.
Results: Analyses indicated that lapses were positively associated with the strength of dietary temptation, presence of others, coping responses, and the environment (exposure to food cues) in which the dieters were in; lapses were more likely to occur in the evening and were negatively associated with the use of coping mechanisms. Additionally, lapse occurrence was found to mediate the relationships among the above predictors of lapse and the self-efficacy to resist future dietary temptations.
Conclusions: Results provide an insight into the occurrence of lapses in dieters and have implications for interventions focusing on weight loss maintenance and relapse prevention.

Diabetes Burden and Diabetes Distress: the Buffering Effect of Social Support
Authors: Rachel N. Baek, MS, Molly L. Tanenbaum, MA, Jeffrey S. Gonzalez PhD
Abstract:
Background: Few studies have examined protective factors for diabetes distress.
Purpose: This study aimed to examine the moderating role of social support in the relationship between the burden of diabetes and diabetes distress.
Methods: Adults with type 2 diabetes (N = 119; 29 % Latino, 61 % Black, 25 % White) completed validated measures of diabetes distress and social support. Multiple linear regression evaluated the moderating role of social support in the relationship between diabetes burden, indicated by prescription of insulin and presence of complications, and distress.
Results: Greater support satisfaction was significantly associated with lower distress after controlling for burden. Support satisfaction and number of supports significantly moderated the relationship between diabetes burden and distress. Post hoc probing revealed a consistent pattern: Insulin was significantly associated with more diabetes distress at low levels of support but was not at high levels of support.
Conclusion: Findings support the stress-buffering hypothesis and suggest that social support may protect against diabetes distress.

Evidence That Self-Affirmation Improves Phosphate Control in Hemodialysis Patients: A Pilot Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors: Vari Wileman, MSc, Ken Farrington, MD, FRCP, Joseph Chilcot, PhD, Sam Norton, PhD, David M. Wellsted, PhD, et al.
Abstract:
Background: Hemodialysis patients are at risk of serious health complications, yet treatment non-adherence remains high.
Purpose: Warnings about health risks associated with non-adherence may trigger defensive reactions. We studied whether an intervention based on self-affirmation theory (Steele 1988) reduced patients' resistance to health-risk information and improved adherence.
Methods: One hundred twelve patients either self-affirmed or completed a matched control task before reading about the risks associated with a lack of phosphate control. Serum phosphate was collected from baseline up to 12 months.
Results: Self-affirmed patients had significantly reduced serum phosphate levels at 1 and 12 months. However, contrary to the predictions derived from self-affirmation theory, self-affirmed participants and controls did not differ in their evaluation of the health-risk information, behavioural intention or self-efficacy.
Conclusions: A low-cost, high-reach health intervention based on self-affirmation theory was shown to reduce serum phosphate over a 12 month period. Further work is required to identify mediators of the observed effects.

Translational Behavioral Medicine

Game playbooks: tools to guide multidisciplinary teams in developing videogame-based behavior change interventions
Authors: Lindsay R Duncan, PhD, Kimberly D Hieftje, PhD, Sabrina Culyba, MET, Lynn E Fiellin, MD
Abstract:
As mobile technologies and videogaming platforms are becoming increasingly prevalent in the realm of health and healthcare, so are the opportunities to use these resources to conduct behavioral interventions. The creation and empirical testing of game style interventions, however, is challenged by the requisite collaboration of multidisciplinary teams, including researchers and game developers who have different cultures, terminologies, and standards of evidence. Thus, traditional intervention development tools such as logic models and intervention manuals may need to be augmented by creating what we have termed "Game Playbooks" which are intervention guidebooks that are created by, understood by, and acceptable to all members of the multidisciplinary game development team. The purpose of this paper is to describe the importance and content of a Game Playbook created to aide in the development of a videogame intervention designed specifically for health behavior change in young teens as well as the process for creating such a tool. We draw on the experience of our research and game design team to describe the critical components of the Game Playbook and the necessity of creating such a tool.

The EARLY trials: a consortium of studies targeting weight control in young adults
Authors: Leslie A Lytle, PhD, MS, Laura P Svetkey, MD, MHS, Kevin Patrick, MD, MS, Steven H Belle, PhD, MSHyg, I Diana Fernandez, MD, MPH, PhD, et al.
Abstract:
Young adulthood has been identified as a high-risk period for the development of obesity but few interventions have been tested in this population. One way to escalate our learning about effective interventions is to test a number of interventions simultaneously as a consortium of research trials. This paper describes the Early Adult Reduction of weight through LifestYle intervention (EARLY) trials. Seven research sites were funded to conduct intervention trials, agreeing to test similar primary outcomes and cooperating to use a set of common measurement tools. The EARLY consortium was able to work cooperatively using an executive committee, a steering committee, workgroups and subcommittees to help direct the common work and implement a set of common protocol and measurement tools for seven independent but coordinated weight-related intervention trials. Using a consortium of studies to help young adults reach or maintain a healthy weight will result in increased efficiency and speed in understanding the most effective intervention strategies.

Dulce Mothers: an intervention to reduce diabetes and cardiovascular risk in Latinas after gestational diabetes
Authors: Athena Philis-Tsimikas MD, Addie L. Fortmann PhD, Sapna Dharkar-Surber MPH, Johanna A. Euyoque MA, Monica Ruiz MA, et al.
Abstract:
Latina women with prior gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) are at elevated risk for type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease. Few primary prevention programs are designed for low socioeconomic status, Spanish-speaking populations. We examined the effectiveness of a Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) translation in low-income Latinas with a history of GDM. Eighty-four Latinas, 18-45 years old with GDM in the past 3 years, underwent an 8-week peer-educator-led group intervention, with tailoring for Latino culture and recent motherhood. Lifestyle changes and diabetes and cardiovascular risk factors were assessed at study baseline, month 3 and month 6. Participants showed significant improvements in lipids, blood pressure, physical activity, dietary fat intake, and fatalistic and cultural diabetes beliefs (p < 0.05). Formative evaluation provides preliminary evidence of program acceptability. A peer-led, culturally appropriate DPP translation was effective in improving lifestyle changes and some indicators of cardiovascular and diabetes risk in Latinas with GDM.

Honors & Awards

This article showcases some of SBM members' recent honors and awards. If you would like to have your honor or award featured in the next issue, please forward the details of your achievement to William J. Sieber, PhD, Outlook Editor. Congratulations to all of the following members.

Zeeshan Ahmad Butt, PhD
Dr. Butt was awarded a Presidential Citation from the President of the American Psychological Association for his scholarly contributions related to clinical health psychology and his remarkable ability to foster professional engagement and career development among early career health psychologists.

Karina W. Davidson, PhD
Dr. Davidson was appointed to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) as an expert in prevention and primary care. The new additions to the Task Force were appointed by the director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, with guidance from Task Force leadership, to serve 4-year terms.

Marie Johnston, PhD
Dr. Johnston was recognised in the UK Science Council's 100 leading practicing scientists as a developer/translational scientist. She was recognised for research on disability (theory, measurement and intervention) and on behavior change in health and healthcare contexts.

C. Tracy Orleans, PhD
Dr. Orleans received an Alumnae Achievement Awards from Wellesley College for her work in behavioral medicine. The award recognizes alumnae who have brought honor to themselves and to Wellesley College through their outstanding achievements. The Alumnae Achievement Award is the highest honor given to alumnae for excellence and distinction in their fields of endeavor and has been presented annually since 1970.