User:Campus16/Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research

Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) is situated within the Office of the Director at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). OBSSR furthers the mission of NIH by emphasizing the critical role that behavior and social factors play in health, health care, and well-being. With a budget of approximately $27 million in Fiscal Year 2011, OBSSR serves as the focal point for the coordination and development of policies, goals, and objectives in the behavioral and social sciences at NIH. OBSSR's mission is to (1) integrate a behavioral and social sciences perspective across the NIH; (2) disseminate behavioral and social sciences research findings; and (3) provide advice to and communicate with the NIH Director, Congress, other government agencies, the research community and the general public on matters regarding behavioral and social sciences research.

Mission
The Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) furthers the mission of NIH by emphasizing the role that behavioral and social factors and their interaction with biomedical variables play in health. The three main goals of the Office are to: enhance behavioral and social sciences research and training, integrate a biobehavioral perspective across NIH and improve communication among health scientists and with the public. OBSSR's primary activities include:


 * Developing and Supporting a National Research Agenda: OBSSR plays a leadership role in setting priorities for behavioral and social sciences research, in developing ideas for funding initiatives related to the behavioral and social sciences, and in gaining the support for them within NIH. OBSSR convenes the NIH Behavioral and Social Sciences Research Coordinating Committee (BSSR-CC) bi-monthly to enhance the integration and coordination of behavioral and social sciences research/training activities within NIH.  With input from the BSSR-CC, OBSSR coordinates scientific activities in the behavioral and social sciences across NIH.  OBSSR is also active in organizing cutting-edge funding initiatives supported by multiple institutes within NIH and multiple agencies across the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.


 * Improving Communication Among Scientists and with the Public: OBSSR regularly convenes a series of guest lectures and symposia on selected topics in the behavioral and social sciences. These presentations by prominent behavioral and social scientists provide the NIH community and the general public with the overviews of current research on topics of scientific and social interest.


 * Briefing the Director of NIH: The visible presence of behavioral and social sciences research in the intellectual community on the NIH campus is of critical importance to increasing support for these sciences. The Office briefs the NIH Director on discoveries and developments in the field.


 * Training and Career Development of Behavioral and Social Scientists: OBSSR provides training on a variety of topics through workshops, lecture slides, summer institutes, on-line courses, and a variety of other training activities.

Background
Behavioral and social sciences research is a large, multi-faceted field, encompassing a wide array of disciplines. The field employs a variety of methodological approaches including: surveys and questionnaires, interviews, randomized clinical trials, direct observation, physiological manipulations and recording, descriptive methods, laboratory and field experiments, standardized tests, economic analyses, statistical modeling, ethnography, and evaluation. Yet, behavioral and social sciences research is not restricted to a set of disciplines or methodological approaches. Instead, the field is defined by substantive areas of research that transcend disciplinary and methodological boundaries. In addition, several key cross-cutting themes characterize social and behavioral sciences research. These include: an emphasis on theory-driven research; the search for general principles of behavioral and social functioning; the importance ascribed to a developmental, lifespan perspective; an emphasis on individual variation, and variation across sociodemographic categories such as gender, age, and sociocultural status; and a focus on both the social and biological contexts of behavior.

The core areas of behavioral and social sciences research are divided into basic or fundamental research and applied research. The basic and applied research distinction serves more of an organizational function for purposes of this definition, rather than representing firm boundaries within the field. Indeed, many studies have both basic and applied components. Moreover, basic and applied research is often complementary. Basic research frequently provides the foundation for subsequent applied research, and applied research often influences the direction of basic research.

History
By the early 1980s, it was obvious that behavioral and social factors not only play a major role in health and illness but also interact with biological factors to influence health outcomes. Progress in behavioral and social science research during the 1970s and 1980s increased our knowledge base and underscored the need for this kind of research. The growing appreciation of the importance of behavioral and social factors in health and disease has been furthered by serveral discouraging health and social trends, including rising rates of youth violence; increasing obesity, especially among children; high infant mortality rates; rising rates of homelessness; and persistent health disparities among segments of the population. In addition, as the population has grown older, many chronic dieases such as heart disease, arthritis, and cancer have become much more common. Behavioral and social factors play a central role not only in the development of these diseases and others but also in their prevention and treatment.

In 1993, in response to the need for health-related behavioral and social sciences research, Congress established OBSSR in the Office of the Director at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). OBSSR officially began its work on July 1, 1995. NIH already had a long history of supporting health-related behavioral and social sciences research, and the results of this work have contributed significantly to our understanding of the basic underlying mechanisms and treatment of mental and physical health and illness. To provide the OBSSR with counsel in fulfilling its mission, the Behavioral and Social Sciences Research Coordinating Committee (BSSR CC) serves as an internal advisory board. Robert M. Kaplan, Ph.D. is the director of the office.