Society of Behavioral Medicine 2022 Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions - PROJECT ABSTRACT
The Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM) will hold its 43rd Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions April 6-9,
2022, in Baltimore, MD. This application seeks funding in support of meeting programming addressing the
following specific aims: (1) Train attendees in the skills necessary to improve individual and population health
and reduce systemic health inequities by meaningfully including diverse voices in their research and practice
(e.g., inclusion of racial/ethnic and gender minorities, leading cross-disciplinary collaborations, and involving
industry and community partners); (2) Showcase innovative models for identifying and promoting health
solutions, including via influencing policy and public discourse; and (3) Enhance the diversity of behavioral
medicine professionals by providing mentoring, leadership training, professional development, and networking
opportunities to trainees, junior and mid-career faculty, clinicians, industry professionals, underrepresented
individuals, and others who attend the meeting. SBM is the nation’s leading scientific society dedicated to
behavioral medicine, representing approximately 2,400 researchers and clinicians from more than 20
disciplines. SBM’s members include researchers, clinicians, educators, and industry professionals who focus
on the development and integration of behavioral, psychosocial, and biomedical theory, knowledge, and
interventions relevant to the understanding of health and disease. They work to understand, prevent, and treat
chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, diabetes, and cancer. They conduct
research and translate findings into real-world settings to improve lives while also reducing healthcare costs.
SBM’s annual meetings are the premier forum for disseminating behavioral medicine’s important ideas and
breakthroughs. The meeting’s educational sessions, networking events, interactive research spotlights, and
poster/exhibit halls facilitate exchange of information and ideas. Attendees apply the knowledge gained to
disease prevention and management, and development of innovative research designs, effective interventions
and strategies, and evidence-based policies. An estimated 2,000 individuals from the United States and
abroad will attend the 2022 SBM Annual Meeting, which will feature more than 1,500 presentations. The
meeting theme is “The Urgency of Adaptation.” We are living through three converging public health
emergencies: the COVID-19 pandemic, systemic racism, and the climate crisis. These present an incredible
moment of vulnerability and opportunity for leveraging expertise in behavioral medicine to improve public
health. The 2022 Annual Meeting will challenge attendees to see their work—and its potential impact—through
the lens of these three emergencies. Sessions will encourage attendees to adapt their work, the way they
share it, and the audiences they target to ensure behavioral medicine experts have greater impact and seats at
more tables where solutions are being developed. Most of the world’s health challenges have behavioral
origins. Behavioral medicine and the evidence it generates are more important than ever.
