Project Summary
The 2019-2021 meetings of the Society for Medical Decision Making (SMDM) will advance
research and health policy relevant to AHRQ priority populations. Meeting themes and content
will address leading issues in medical decision-making and health policy research that are
relevant, challenging, and would benefit from a transdisciplinary and rigorous approach. The
specific aims of this conference grant are to (1) Advance research methods in the
transdisciplinary field of medical decision making relevant to diverse populations in the current
era through support of scientific plenary and oral abstract sessions, (2) Provide a forum for state
of the art research training, mentorship, and career development, in the field of medical decision
making that promotes career development for trainees including women and minorities, through
support of short courses, mentoring, and career development sessions, and (3) Disseminate
annual meeting presentations on a world-wide basis, through support of live-streaming and
archived recording of keynote, symposium, and career development sessions, and publication of
conference reports as a supplement in SMDM’s open access journal MDM Policy & Practice.
Although each meeting includes competitively selected research presentations that span the
gamut of medical decision making research, the proposed three-year meeting plan uses meeting
themes, keynote speakers, and special symposia to focus on topics ranging from individual
perspectives to dyadic, interpersonal, and interprofessional relationships to system and societal
factors. The 2019 meeting theme is “Many Views on Value” and will be held in October 2019 in
Portland, Oregon. The 2020 meeting theme is “Relationships in Medical Decision Making” and
will be held in October 2020 in Chicago, Illinois. The 2021 meeting theme is “Individual and
Society in Health Care Decisions” and will be held in October 2021 in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Each meeting includes a keynote address, thematic symposia, short courses, scientific abstract
oral and poster sessions, a career development panel, trainee networking and mentoring events,
and a trainee research elevator pitch session. Conference reports from the keynote and
symposia in each year will be solicited for publication in the Society’s open access journal. This
grant will support sessions that present cutting-edge research, sessions that contribute to trainee
development, and broad dissemination of meeting sessions via live streams, online recordings,
social media, and publication.