Spring 2023
Editor's Note
There is a leader in all of us where we have been engaged in paving the way for change at some level. In this issue, many of our members, including the President, provide primers on how we can lead during difficult and unprecedented times.
Climate Action Advocacy: A Primer for SBM Members
Climate change is a current threat to global health that is projected to steadily worsen. Thus, it can be considered a responsibility of health professionals to take individual and collective actions to prepare for and mitigate this threat.
Climate Change & Health in Phoenix: Opportunities for Engagement
Over the past several months, members of the Climate Change & Health Special Interest Group (in-formation) have worked diligently in planning a series of events– including a pre-conference workshop, a business meeting, a networking session, and a number of panel presentations– for the upcoming annual meeting in Phoenix.
Best Practices for Effective Mentorship
In the Winter 2022 edition of Outlook, members of the Palliative Care SIG shared helpful tips about finding and working with an academic mentor. Here, we focus on tips for being an effective mentor. Many mentors do not have formalized training in mentorship, and yet post-training, they find themselves becoming mentors almost immediately.
Transitioning From Academia to Industry: Suggestions From Insiders
As chairs of the BIT-SIG who work in industry, we often receive requests from junior researchers on how to transition from an academic position to industry. Making the transition from academia to industry can be a challenging process, but it can also be a rewarding one.
Do You Smoke? Stigma, Shame and Blame as Unintended Consequences of Tobacco Control
Behavioral medicine has played a seminal role in the development of multi-level behavior change interventions designed to reduce cancer risk. Most notably, comprehensive, multi-pronged population-level, tobacco control interventions have greatly reduced the appeal and acceptability of smoking, increased smoking cessation, reduced secondhand smoke exposure, and decreased the initiation of cigarette smoking among young people.
Care Under Attack: The Politicization of Pediatric and Adolescent Gender-Affirming Care and Ways Forward
In the United States, concerted efforts from anti-trans legislators in nearly half of the states introduced bills or passed legislation that criminalizes the provision of gender-affirming care to transgender minors1, a political tactic that established medical organizations have ubiquitously condemned.2–4
Beyond the Binary-Importance of Assessing Sexual and Gender Minority Status in Population Health
The Population Health Sciences SIG aims to support behavioral researchers engaged in research focused on multiple determinants of health among different populations, with an emphasis on social, environmental, and organizational influences on health and health-related behavior. A core determinant of health is one’s identity and relationship to social constructs, including Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI).
The Power of Advocacy: Two Leaders Discuss Health Policy Advocacy for Women, Children, and Families
The Women’s Health Special Interest Group and the Child and Family Health Special Interest Group co-hosted a webinar on using social media to advocate for women, children, and families. The speakers provided strategies to leverage social media to enhance your policy advocacy efforts and connect with lawmakers to make your work more visible. To continue these conversations, we reached out to two eminent leaders actively advocating for improving the health of women, children, and families: Dr. Jennie Bever, Executive Director and CEO of the nonprofit organization 4th Trimester Arizona, and Julie Hoffman, Consultant, and Chair of Advocacy, American Diabetes Association.
Translating Science into Impact: What to Expect at the Upcoming 2023 Annual Meeting
I am looking forward to seeing many of you at the Society of Behavioral Medicine 44th Annual Meeting, which will be held April 26th – 29th in Phoenix, AZ at the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown. The Program Planning Committee has worked hard to put together a meeting that will facilitate learning how to communicate your science, networking, professional development, and self-care. I want to take this opportunity to highlight some of the exciting sessions we have planned for you at the 2023 Annual Meeting.
The Organizational Partnerships Committee Can Support Your Professional Goals
With SBM’s restructuring, the Advocacy Council now includes the Organizational Partnerships Committee (OPC), formally known as the Scientific and Professional Liaison Council. The OPC is tasked with developing strategic relationships with external organizations like the American Heart Association, the Behavioral Medicine Research Council, the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, ecoAmerica, and the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, to highlight behavioral science and further advance public health nationally and internationally.
Meet the Industry Connections Committee (ICC)
What is the ICC? In the last decade, we’ve seen a proliferation of behavioral solutions emerging in all sectors of health care, and an increased presence of behavioral scientists working in companies that are developing and launching these solutions. SBM saw a need to include these behavior scientists in the Society’s work, and formed the ICC in 2022.
New Articles from Annals of Behavioral Medicine and Translational Behavioral Medicine
Honors and Awards
Congratulations to the following SBM members who recently received awards or were otherwise honored. To have your honor or award featured in the next issue of Outlook, please email sgilbertson@sbm.org
Members in the News
The following SBM members and their research were recently featured in journals, news articles, or videos. To have your news spot featured in the next issue of Outlook, please email sgilbertson@sbm.org
President's Message: Leading in Challenging Times
As we enter a new year, many of us are actively navigating the shifting policies and practices related to COVID-19 while managing our own and our families’ ongoing strains related to the impact of remote work, political instability, unpredictable and dramatic weather events, and longstanding social inequities. It is a challenge! And beyond crafting our own pathways to success many of us are tasked as leaders to inspire and motivate others within our organizations to stay positive and productive.
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