Outlook | Newsletter of the Society of Behavioral Medicine

New 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 online articles, many of which become available before issues are printed. Three recently published Annals and TBM online articles are listed below.

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

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

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

Annals of Behavioral Medicine

The Challenge of Stimulus Control: a Comment on Poelman et al.
Authors: Sherry Pagoto, PhD, and Brad M. Appelhans, PhD
Excerpt: Stimulus control interventions attempt to reduce unhealthy behavior (or increase healthy behavior) by identifying and modifying environmental factors that repeatedly trigger that behavior [1]. In the context of weight management, modifying the food environment has been a focus given the omnipresence of energy-dense foods in the home, workplace, and marketplace. Poelman and colleagues conducted a randomized trial of an intervention that aimed to reduce BMI by educating participants about portion control and the environmental triggers that lead to overconsumption [2]. Unfortunately, their intervention showed a very modest and short-lived effect on body mass index.

Advancing Research on Engagement in Internet Interventions: a Comment on Owen et al.
Author: Mark S. Salzer, PhD
Excerpt: The issue of engagement, also discussed as exposure, to internet-based interventions and content has increased dramatically over the last decade. Any enthusiasm about the possible public health benefits of online interventions with varied populations to achieve outcomes such as smoking cessation, weight loss, skills acquisition, or address mental health disorders or distress is tempered by robust findings of widespread non-engagement with such interventions. Users are not logging in, log-in only once, view a webpage for short periods of time (i.e., seconds), or quickly taper off in their participation, a phenomenon described as “nonusage attrition” [1]. Efficacy is clearly hard to determine with such behavior. The result has been a resounding call for the development of a “science of user engagement” [2].

Individual and Household Predictors of Adolescents’ Adherence to a Web-Based Intervention
Authors: Louise C. Mâsse, PhD; Allison W. Watts, MSc; Susan I. Barr, PhD; Andrew W. Tu, MSc; Constadina Panagiotopoulos, MD; Josie Geller, PhD; and Jean-Pierre Chanoine, MD
Abstract: Adherence to e-health obesity interventions is a significant challenge. We examined the individual and household predictors of adolescents’ adherence to a Web-based lifestyle intervention. One hundred sixty overweight/obese adolescents and one of their parents enrolled in the 8-month e-health intervention. Structural equation modeling was used to examine individual factors from the theory of planned behavior and self-determination theory and household factors (food/soda availability, parenting, environment) that predict adolescents’ adherence to components of the intervention. We explained 10.8 to 36.9 % of the total variance in adherence to components of the intervention. Intrinsic motivation and parenting practices and styles directly predicted adherence. Relatedness and autonomy support indirectly predicted adherence via intrinsic motivation. Finally, household income modulated these effects. Taking a self-regulatory perspective (i.e., accounting for intrinsic motivation) contributes to our understanding of intervention adherence, but the household environment may play a greater role in facilitating adolescent behavior change.

Translational Behavioral Medicine

It takes a (virtual) village: crowdsourcing measurement consensus to advance survivorship care planning
Authors: Carla Parry, PhD, MSW, MA; Ellen Beckjord, PhD, MPH; Richard P. Moser, PhD; Sana N. Vieux, MPH; Lynne S. Padgett, PhD; and Bradford W. Hesse, PhD
Abstract: We report results from the use of an innovative tool (the Grid-Enabled Measures (GEM) database) to drive consensus on the use of measures evaluating the efficacy and implementation of survivorship care plans. The goal of this initiative was to increase the use of publicly available shared measures to enable comparability across studies. Between February and August 2012, research and practice communities populated the GEM platform with constructs and measures relevant to survivorship care planning, rated the measures, and provided qualitative feedback on the quality of the measures. Fifty-one constructs and 124 measures were entered into the GEM-Care Planning workspace by participants. The greatest number of measures appeared in the domains of Health and Psychosocial Outcomes, Health Behaviors, and Coordination of Care/Transitional Care. Using technology-mediated social participation, GEM presents a novel approach to how we measure and improve the quality of survivorship care.

The window of opportunity for indoor tanning legislation
Author: Jonathan E. Mayer, BA
Abstract: As of August 2014, 11 states in the USA have passed under-age-18 bans on indoor tanning. The Society of Behavioral Medicine, the American Academy of Dermatology, and the American Academy of Pediatrics have all issued statements in support of an under-age-18 ban. The World Health Organization and the Food and Drug Administration have both declared indoor tanning devices as carcinogenic, and this year, the Surgeon General for the first time issued a warning on the dangers of UV radiation and indoor tanning. This essay highlights how the awareness of the risks of indoor tanning, effective policies, and a conducive political atmosphere have aligned to create a window of opportunity for further under-age-18 indoor tanning legislation. The rising number of preventable skin cancers and mortalities is an issue that transcends political party lines, and now, there is a need for support from health professionals and advocates to motivate legislators to push new under-age-18 bills past their sticking points.

A brief primary care intervention to reduce fear of movement in chronic low back pain patients
Authors: Thomas P. Guck, PhD; Raymond V. Burke, PhD; Christopher Rainville, MD; Dreylana Hill-Taylor, MD; and Dustin P. Wallace, PhD
Abstract: Fear avoidance model of chronic pain-based interventions are effective, but have not been successfully implemented into primary care. It was hypothesized that speed walking times and key measures of the fear avoidance model would improve following the brief intervention delivered in primary care. A brief primary care-based intervention (PCB) that included a single educational session, speed walking (an in vivo desensitization exposure task), and visual performance feedback was designed to reduce fear avoidance beliefs and improve function in 4 patients with chronic low back pain. A multiple baseline across subjects with a changing criterion design indicated that speed walking times improved from baseline only after the PCB intervention was delivered. Six fear avoidance model outcome measures improved from baseline to end of study and five of six outcome measures improved from end of study to follow-up. This study provides evidence for the efficacy of a brief PCB fear avoidance intervention that was successfully implemented into a busy clinic for the treatment of chronic pain.


Fall 2014	Return to Outlook main page »
New 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 online articles, many of which become available before issues are printed. Three recently published Annals and TBM online articles are listed below. SBM members who have paid their 2014 membership dues are able to access the full text of all Annals and TBM online articles via the SBM website by following the steps below. Go to the Members Only section of the SBM website (https://www.sbm.org/membership/members). Log in with your username and password. Click on the Journals link (listed third in the list of member benefits). Click on the title of the journal which you would like to electronically access. To check if you are a current SBM member, or if you are having trouble accessing the journals online, please contact the SBM national office at info@sbm.org or (414) 918-3156. Annals of Behavioral Medicine The Challenge of Stimulus Control: a Comment on Poelman et al. Authors: Sherry Pagoto, PhD, and Brad M. Appelhans, PhD Excerpt: Stimulus control interventions attempt to reduce unhealthy behavior (or increase healthy behavior) by identifying and modifying environmental factors that repeatedly trigger that behavior [1]. In the context of weight management, modifying the food environment has been a focus given the omnipresence of energy-dense foods in the home, workplace, and marketplace. Poelman and colleagues conducted a randomized trial of an intervention that aimed to reduce BMI by educating participants about portion control and the environmental triggers that lead to overconsumption [2]. Unfortunately, their intervention showed a very modest and short-lived effect on body mass index. Advancing Research on Engagement in Internet Interventions: a Comment on Owen et al. Author: Mark S. Salzer, PhD Excerpt: The issue of engagement, also discussed as exposure, to internet-based interventions and content has increased dramatically over the last decade. Any enthusiasm about the possible public health benefits of online interventions with varied populations to achieve outcomes such as smoking cessation, weight loss, skills acquisition, or address mental health disorders or distress is tempered by robust findings of widespread non-engagement with such interventions. Users are not logging in, log-in only once, view a webpage for short periods of time (i.e., seconds), or quickly taper off in their participation, a phenomenon described as “nonusage attrition” [1]. Efficacy is clearly hard to determine with such behavior. The result has been a resounding call for the development of a “science of user engagement” [2]. Individual and Household Predictors of Adolescents’ Adherence to a Web-Based Intervention Authors: Louise C. Mâsse, PhD; Allison W. Watts, MSc; Susan I. Barr, PhD; Andrew W. Tu, MSc; Constadina Panagiotopoulos, MD; Josie Geller, PhD; and Jean-Pierre Chanoine, MD Abstract: Adherence to e-health obesity interventions is a significant challenge. We examined the individual and household predictors of adolescents’ adherence to a Web-based lifestyle intervention. One hundred sixty overweight/obese adolescents and one of their parents enrolled in the 8-month e-health intervention. Structural equation modeling was used to examine individual factors from the theory of planned behavior and self-determination theory and household factors (food/soda availability, parenting, environment) that predict adolescents’ adherence to components of the intervention. We explained 10.8 to 36.9 % of the total variance in adherence to components of the intervention. Intrinsic motivation and parenting practices and styles directly predicted adherence. Relatedness and autonomy support indirectly predicted adherence via intrinsic motivation. Finally, household income modulated these effects. Taking a self-regulatory perspective (i.e., accounting for intrinsic motivation) contributes to our understanding of intervention adherence, but the household environment may play a greater role in facilitating adolescent behavior change. Translational Behavioral Medicine It takes a (virtual) village: crowdsourcing measurement consensus to advance survivorship care planning Authors: Carla Parry, PhD, MSW, MA; Ellen Beckjord, PhD, MPH; Richard P. Moser, PhD; Sana N. Vieux, MPH; Lynne S. Padgett, PhD; and Bradford W. Hesse, PhD Abstract: We report results from the use of an innovative tool (the Grid-Enabled Measures (GEM) database) to drive consensus on the use of measures evaluating the efficacy and implementation of survivorship care plans. The goal of this initiative was to increase the use of publicly available shared measures to enable comparability across studies. Between February and August 2012, research and practice communities populated the GEM platform with constructs and measures relevant to survivorship care planning, rated the measures, and provided qualitative feedback on the quality of the measures. Fifty-one constructs and 124 measures were entered into the GEM-Care Planning workspace by participants. The greatest number of measures appeared in the domains of Health and Psychosocial Outcomes, Health Behaviors, and Coordination of Care/Transitional Care. Using technology-mediated social participation, GEM presents a novel approach to how we measure and improve the quality of survivorship care. The window of opportunity for indoor tanning legislation Author: Jonathan E. Mayer, BA Abstract: As of August 2014, 11 states in the USA have passed under-age-18 bans on indoor tanning. The Society of Behavioral Medicine, the American Academy of Dermatology, and the American Academy of Pediatrics have all issued statements in support of an under-age-18 ban. The World Health Organization and the Food and Drug Administration have both declared indoor tanning devices as carcinogenic, and this year, the Surgeon General for the first time issued a warning on the dangers of UV radiation and indoor tanning. This essay highlights how the awareness of the risks of indoor tanning, effective policies, and a conducive political atmosphere have aligned to create a window of opportunity for further under-age-18 indoor tanning legislation. The rising number of preventable skin cancers and mortalities is an issue that transcends political party lines, and now, there is a need for support from health professionals and advocates to motivate legislators to push new under-age-18 bills past their sticking points. A brief primary care intervention to reduce fear of movement in chronic low back pain patients Authors: Thomas P. Guck, PhD; Raymond V. Burke, PhD; Christopher Rainville, MD; Dreylana Hill-Taylor, MD; and Dustin P. Wallace, PhD Abstract: Fear avoidance model of chronic pain-based interventions are effective, but have not been successfully implemented into primary care. It was hypothesized that speed walking times and key measures of the fear avoidance model would improve following the brief intervention delivered in primary care. A brief primary care-based intervention (PCB) that included a single educational session, speed walking (an in vivo desensitization exposure task), and visual performance feedback was designed to reduce fear avoidance beliefs and improve function in 4 patients with chronic low back pain. A multiple baseline across subjects with a changing criterion design indicated that speed walking times improved from baseline only after the PCB intervention was delivered. Six fear avoidance model outcome measures improved from baseline to end of study and five of six outcome measures improved from end of study to follow-up. This study provides evidence for the efficacy of a brief PCB fear avoidance intervention that was successfully implemented into a busy clinic for the treatment of chronic pain.