A 6-year update of the health policy and advocacy priorities of the Society of Behavioral Medicine

Abstract

Government policy affects virtually every topic of interest to health behavior researchers, from research funding to reimbursement for clinical services to application of evidence to impact health outcomes. This paper provides a 6-year update on the expansion of Society of Behavioral Medicine's (SBM) public policy and advocacy agenda and proposed future directions. SBM's Health Policy Council is responsible for ensuring coordination of the policy-related activities of the Health Policy Committee (HPC), the Civic and Public Engagement Committee (CPEC), and the Scientific and Professional Liaison Council (SPLC). These committees and councils have written letters to Congress, signed onto advocacy letters with hundreds of organizations, and developed and disseminated 15 health policy briefs, the majority of which have been presented to legislative staffers on Capitol Hill. With the assistance of the SPLC, SBM has collaborated on policy efforts with like-minded organizations to increase the impact of the Society's policy work. Moving forward, SBM plans to continue to increase efforts to disseminate policy work more broadly and develop long-term relationships with Congressional staffers. SBM leadership realizes that to remain relevant, demonstrate impact, and advance the role of behavioral medicine, we must advance a policy agenda that reflects our mission of better health through behavior change.

The American Psychosomatic Society Antiracism Task Force: Implementation, Activities, and Lessons Learned

“…Below we summarize the key activities of the ARTF as a case study for how a professional scientific organization can incorporate antiracism into its procedures, policies, and programs. This effort complements recent pledges (e.g., ( 4 )), commentaries by editorial boards (e.g., ( 10 )), and reports by professional societies (e.g., ( 11 )). Our goals are twofold: first, we see this article as one way to accomplish our pledge of being transparent with the APS membership about our work, which is an important strategy for pursuing antiracism.…”

Medicina Conductual: Una revisión histórica.

“…En la historia de la medicina conductual, la relación entre la evidencia científica y los responsables de la toma de decisiones en políticas de salud, no se encontraba establecida ni representada por algún comité de investigadores (43). El interés surge recientemente en la decada pasada, debido a que los responsables de políticas de salud a menudo no estaban informados del avance de las investigaciones (42,43)…”

“…En los análisis longitudinales, el PP de 4 semanas fue un predictor significativo en el cambio de peso desde la semana 5 a la semana 14 (Tiempo 1: b = -0,11, p = 0,001; Tiempo 2: b = 0,003, p = 0,02). (19,43). La posición de la SMC es sólida, siendo su propósito difundir la evidencia de la medicina conductual a las políticas de salud pública, explicando a las autoridades por qué se deben considerar la evidencia en sus debates, reuniones y decisiones (45).…”