Research Translation for Military and Veteran Health

“Our clinical partners can’t wait five years for research to be done before they act to prevent suicide among our Veterans,” noted David Atkins, MD, MPH (VA’s Acting Chief Research and Development Officer) while speaking at the Society of Behavioral Medicine's (SBM) 2016 Annual Meeting in Washington, DC. Improving the wellbeing and safety of our military Servicemembers, Veterans, and their families clearly requires accelerated translation of research to practice.

Our Military and Veterans’ Health Special Interest Group (MVH SIG) oversees numerous other, urgent opportunities for research translation from diabetes prevention, obesity reduction, dietetics, and physical activity promotion to PTSD and depression treatment to reduction of alcohol, tobacco, and opioid use or misuse. Our SIG’s U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), and academic affiliated members are leading the way for best practices and policy. We are very proud that so many of our colleagues are choosing SBM as an additional opportunity to discuss, develop, and disseminate their work. Our MVH SIG is emerging as a leading scientific and professional forum for Servicemember and Veteran health!

We are currently planning a pre-conference course on research translation for the SBM 2017 Annual Meeting, March 29 - April 1, 2017, San Diego, CA. Course content will emphasize research translation as it applies to policy development, implementation science, and healthcare quality improvement. Portions of the course will also highlight how to best secure funding support for work through VA, DoD, and other mechanisms.

The intent of the pre-conference course, and much of our SIG’s work, is to increase the knowledge and skills of our members and others for career success and mission accomplishment for health. As we plan abstract submissions for next year’s Annual Meeting, we invite your contributions to complement the broader MVH SIG mission and SBM mission and vision including, “better health through behavior change.”

Our MVH SIG invites all SBM members, other associates, and potential new members to join our commitment of promoting behavioral health for those still serving, who once served, and their families. We invite interested SBM members to join our listserv by contacting Communications Officer Lindsey Dorflinger, PhD, at: Lindsey.Dorflinger@va.gov.

Feel free to also contact any of us as co-chairs. We look forward to working with our SIG’s members and others in support of Servicemember and Veteran health now through the next year!