Promoting Health: Intervention Strategies from Social and Behavioral Research

At the dawn of the twenty-first century, Americans enjoyed better overall health than at any other time in the nations history. Rapid advancements in medical technologies, breakthroughs in understanding the genetic underpinnings of health and ill health, improvements in the effectiveness and variety of pharmaceuticals, and other developments in biomedical research have helped develop cures for many illnesses and improve the lives of those with chronic diseases. By itself, however, biomedical research cannot address the most significant challenges to improving public health. Approximately half of all causes of mortality in the United States are linked to social and behavioral factors such as smoking, diet, alcohol use, sedentary lifestyle, and accidents. Yet less than five percent of the money spent annually on U.S. health care is devoted to reducing the risks of these preventable conditions. Behavioral and social interventions offer great promise, but as yet their potential has been relatively poorly tapped. Promoting Health identifies those promising areas of social science and behavioral research that may address public health needs. It includes 12 papers commissioned from some of the nations leading experts that review these issues in detail, and serves to assess whether the knowledge base of social and behavioral interventions has been useful, or could be useful, in the development of broader public health interventions. The Contribution Of Social And Behavioral Research To An Understanding Of The Distribution Of Disease: A Multilevel Approach / George A. Kaplan, Susan A. Everson, And John W. Lynch -- Understanding And Reducing Socioeconomic And Racial/ethnic Disparities In Health / James S. House And David R. Williams -- Preconception, Prenatal, Perinatal, And Postnatal Influences On Health / Carol C. Korenbrot And Nancy E. Moss -- The Healthy Development Of Young Children: Ses Disparities, Prevention Strategies, And Policy Opportunities / Allison Sidle Fuligni And Jeanne Brooks-gunn -- Preadolescent And Adolescent Influences On Health / Cheryl L. Perry -- Behavioral And Social Science Contributions To The Health Of Adults In The United States / Karen M. Emmons -- The Behavioral And Social Dynamics Of Aging Well / George L. Maddox -- The Role Of Mass Media In Creating Social Capital: A New Direction For Public Health / Lawrence Wallack -- Public Health And Safety In Context: Lessons From Community-level Theory On Social Capital / Robert J. Sampson And Jeffrey D. Morenoff -- Legal And Public Policy Interventions To Advance The Population's Health / Lawrence O. Gostin -- The Need For, And Value Of, A Multi-level Approach To Disease Prevention: The Case Of Tobacco Control / Kenneth E. Warner -- Behavioral And Psychosocial Intervention To Modify Pathophysiology And Disease Course / Andrew Baum. Brian D. Smedley And S. Leonard Syme, Editors ; Committee On Capitalizing On Social Science And Behavioral Research To Improve The Public's Health, Division Of Health Promotion And Disease Prevention, Institute Of Medicine. Includes Bibliographical References.

At the dawn of the twenty-first century, Americans enjoyed better overall health than at any other time in the nation's history. Rapid advancements in medical technologies, breakthroughs in understanding the genetic underpinnings of health and ill health, improvements in the effectiveness and variety of pharmaceuticals, and other developments in biomedical research have helped develop cures for many illnesses and improve the lives of those with chronic diseases.

By itself, however, biomedical research cannot address the most significant challenges to improving public health. Approximately half of all causes of mortality in the United States are linked to social and behavioral factors such as smoking, diet, alcohol use, sedentary lifestyle, and accidents. Yet less than five percent of the money spent annually on U.S. health care is devoted to reducing the risks of these preventable conditions. Behavioral and social interventions offer great promise, but as yet their potential has been relatively poorly tapped. Promoting Health identifies those promising areas of social science and behavioral research that may address public health needs.

It includes 12 papers?commissioned from some of the nation's leading experts?that review these issues in detail, and serves to assess whether the knowledge base of social and behavioral interventions has been useful, or could be useful, in the development of broader public health interventions.

Report identifies promising areas of social science and behavioral research that may address public health needs. Includes 12 papers commissioned from some of the nation's leading experts to review these issues in detail. Papers were presented at a symposium held at the Emory Conference in Atlanta, GA (date is not cited)