The NIH Science of Behavior Change Program: Transforming the science through a focus on mechanisms of change

Lisbeth Nielsen; Melissa Riddle; Jonathan W King; NIH Science of Behavior Change Implementation Team; Will M Aklin; Wen Chen; David Clark; Elaine Collier; Susan Czajkowski; Layla Esposito; Rebecca Ferrer; Paige Green; Christine Hunter; Karen Kehl; Rosalind King; Lisa Onken; Janine M Simmons; Luke Stoeckel; Catherine Stoney; Lois Tully; Wendy Weber

doi:10.1016/j.brat.2017.07.002

The NIH Science of Behavior Change Program: Transforming the science through a focus on mechanisms of change

Behav Res Ther. 2018 Feb:101:3-11. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2017.07.002. Epub 2017 Jul 6.

Authors

Lisbeth Nielsen¹, Melissa Riddle², Jonathan W King³; NIH Science of Behavior Change Implementation Team; Will M Aklin⁴, Wen Chen⁵, David Clark², Elaine Collier⁶, Susan Czajkowski⁷, Layla Esposito⁸, Rebecca Ferrer⁷, Paige Green⁷, Christine Hunter⁹, Karen Kehl¹⁰, Rosalind King⁸, Lisa Onken³, Janine M Simmons¹¹, Luke Stoeckel¹², Catherine Stoney¹³, Lois Tully¹⁰, Wendy Weber⁵

Affiliations

¹ National Institute on Aging (NIA), National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA. Electronic address: nielsenli@nia.nih.gov.
² National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
³ National Institute on Aging (NIA), National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
⁴ National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
⁵ National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
⁶ National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
⁷ National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
⁸ Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
⁹ Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR), National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
¹⁰ National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR), National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
¹¹ National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
¹² National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
¹³ National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.

Abstract

The goal of the NIH Science of Behavior Change (SOBC) Common Fund Program is to provide the basis for an experimental medicine approach to behavior change that focuses on identifying and measuring the mechanisms that underlie behavioral patterns we are trying to change. This paper frames the development of the program within a discussion of the substantial disease burden in the U.S. attributable to behavioral factors, and details our strategies for breaking down the disease- and condition-focused silos in the behavior change field to accelerate discovery and translation. These principles serve as the foundation for our vision for a unified science of behavior change at the NIH and in the broader research community.

Keywords: Experimental medicine approach; Interpersonal processes; Mechanisms of behavior change; Science of behavior change; Self-regulation; Stress.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Intramural

MeSH terms

Behavior Control*
Biomedical Research / methods
Humans
National Institutes of Health (U.S.)*
Program Development*
United States

Grants and funding

Z99 AG999999/Intramural NIH HHS/United States