Committee Mandate

Acknowledgements:
We thank the Committee Members for their heroic efforts. We also thank the agencies whose funding made possible the Committee's work. From 2000 to 2004 the EBBM Committee's activities were supported by contract # NLM 00-158/LTN from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR). Separate funding from the NIH National Cancer Institute and OBSSR (contract req #040157) made possible a Formal Exploratory Meeting on 8/25/04 to consider establishing a Cochrane Behavioral Medicine Field.

September 1, 2002 - August 31, 2006

Coordinate a select committee of experts in the evidence-base of behavioral medicine trials and behavioral medicine interventions. This will include expertise in: randomized controlled trials, individual- and community-based interventions, effectiveness/dissemination, biomedical statistics, behavioral medicine intervention methodologies, supplemented by additional expertise as needed, suitable for implementing the duties of the committee.
Create liaisons from the EBBM committee to other behavioral medicine-related organizations that are inclusive of the multiple disciplines (medicine, psychology, nursing, public health) that are interested in partnering with SBM in furthering the evidence base of behavioral medicine.
Promote communication about the field of evidence based-behavioral medicine (EBBM) among researchers, practitioners, educators, organizational decision makers, and policy makers.
Undertake activities for the education of various audiences, including researchers, practitioners, educators, and potential clients about the principles and practices of evidence-based behavioral medicine.
Evaluate factors that foster the translation and adoption of behavioral medicine treatments supported by systematic evidence reviews and knowledge into evidence-based practice and further research.
Create a plan by which the maintenance of the above processes can be sustained, and the results disseminated to third-party payers, policy-makers, the public, and other entities.
Serve as a public resource center for individuals and groups interested in these issues (e.g., to provide summaries of evidence-based interventions; evaluation tools, etc.).

July 1, 2000 - August 31, 2002

Identify and convene a select steering committee of experts in randomized clinical trials, biomedical statistics, clinical psychology, behavioral medicine, community interventions, and project coordination, supplemented by additional consultants on an as-needed basis, suitable for implementing the statement of work.
Create a system of criteria for evaluating the soundness of scientific evidence supporting prevention, treatment, and adjunct interventions in the field of behavioral medicine.
Define methods and procedures for reviewing and evaluating empirical evidence for randomized clinical trials of behavioral and mixed-modality interventions.
Establish a system for categorizing behavioral interventions by disease, outcome objective, stage of development of the science base, and phase of trial.
Create a register of interventions suitable for review, and prioritize these by importance to the field of behavioral medicine.
Develop a plan for undertaking systematic reviews of the existing evidence about behavioral medicine interventions.
Test the system by completing one review of intervention evidence for two different diseases.
Develop a plan for: 1) performing systematic reviews on a continuing basis and 2) disseminating results of these reviews to behavioral medicine researchers, educators, practitioners, the public, third party payers, and other interested entities.

© Evidence-based Behavioral Medicine Committee
Paul Jacobsen, Ph.D.
Chair, Department of Health Outcomes and Behavior, Moffitt Cancer Center
Professor, Department of Psychology, University of South Florida
12902 Magnolia Drive, MRC-PSY
Tampa, Florida 33612
Tel: 813-745-3862
Fax: 813-745-3906
http://www.cas.usf.edu/~jacobsen