[CIHB Roster] 

The Community Influences on Health Behavior Study Section reviews applications that examine the broader socioenvironmental contexts in which health, disease, health-related behavior, and normal development are embedded, including those applications that examine the interaction of socioenvironmental factors with individual factors. Basic studies may investigate social, cultural, and other socioenvironmental factors and processes and their inter-relationships with a broad range of outcomes, including mental and physical health, illness and disorder, risk and protective behaviors and behavior change, health beliefs and attitudes, and normal development and functioning across the lifespan.  Applications may include those that plan to develop and test theories or methods and dissemination studies.  Research approaches may include ethnographic and other qualitative methods; quantitative and mixed-method studies; cross-sectional, longitudinal, or cohort comparison designs; experimental and quasi-experimental designs; studies that focus on more than one period or transition of the life course; and international studies. 

Specific areas covered by CIHB: 

• Socioenvironmental influences on health, behavior, and development, including studies with primary emphasis on socioenvironmental factors, which may include social class, socioeconomic conditions, cultural factors and processes, institutions, social organization, social networks, neighborhood and regional characteristics, media, policies, social and family group membership, and racial and ethnic identity. Examples include studies that: identify and elaborate social and cultural risk and protective influences; explore complex inter-relationships among economic, social, cultural, and environmental influences and health-related outcomes; examine the relationship between laws, law enforcement, or criminal justice institutions on health-related decision-making and behavior change; examine the relationship between advertising, media, and health communications on health behaviors and the influence of ethnic identity and cultural norms on health risk knowledge, attitudes and behaviors.
  
  
• Studies of the social, cultural, and socioenvironmental contexts in which health, disease, behavior and normal development are embedded. These include basic studies of social and cultural processes that are relevant to health and development, such as acculturation, diffusion, ideational change, meaning of health and illness, family structure and functioning, networks and social support, power relations, economic inequality, ethnic, racial and class identity, and social, cultural, institutional, and community change.
  
  
• Social environment change, including prevention approaches based on policy development, change, and enforcement; legal analyses of policies and their implementation; information dissemination; health promotion; organization or reorganization in communities, schools, worksites or other relevant environment settings. These may be directed toward the general population or at-risk groups and utilize multiple social contexts of influence [e.g., schools, worksites, religious and non-sectarian organizations, community networks, media and advertising].  

CIHB has the following shared interests within the HOP IRG: 

• With Behavioral Genetics and Epidemiology [BGES]: BGES also reviews applications that focus upon high-risk behavior. Applications that focus primarily upon genetic factors or that emphasize the use of epidemiological methods may be reviewed in BGES.
  
  
• With Biostatistical Methods and Research Design [BMRD]: BMRD also reviews applications that attempt to establish the relationship between socioenvironmental factors and health and health-related outcomes. Applications in which the primary emphasis is upon the development of new statistical methodology or the improvement of existing research designs may be reviewed by BMRD.
  
  
• With Community-Level Health Promotion [CLHP]: CLHP also reviews applications that focus upon applications that examine the broader socioenvironmental contexts in which health, disease, health-related behavior, and normal development are embedded, including those applications that examine the interaction of socioenvironmental factors with individual factors.  Applications that include a primary focus on an intervention or a natural experiment may be reviewed in CLHP.
  
  
• With Health Services Organization and Delivery [HSOD]: HSOD also reviews applications that explore complex inter-relationships among economic, social, cultural, and environmental influences and health and health-related outcomes. Applications that focus on the delivery or organization of professional health services may be reviewed by HSOD.
  
  
• With Nursing Science: Adults and Aging [NSAA] and Nursing Science: Children and Families [NSCF]: NSAA and NSCF also review applications that attempt to establish the relationship between socioenvironmental factors and health and health-related outcomes. Applications in which the primary emphasis is upon nursing care and research relating to nursing interventions in patient care may be reviewed by NSAA or NSCF, depending upon the age groups being studied.
  
  
• With Social Sciences and Population Studies [SSPS]: SSPS also reviews applications that focus upon high-risk behavior, that are multi-level, or that emphasize the relationships between socioenvironmental factors and health related behavior. Applications that emphasize determination of health status at the community level or that emphasize behavior related to family structure, human reproduction, or population mobility may be reviewed in SSPS.

 CIHB has the following shared interests outside the HOP IRG:

• With the Risk, Prevention and Health Behavior [RPHB] IRG: Applications that focus on adaptive or maladaptive interpersonal processes and risk behavior or personality and motivational and social cognitive processes without emphasis on macro-level influences or institutions may be reviewed by the RPHB IRG. Studies that focus primarily upon examination of these processes within the broader macro-level social context [e.g., neighborhood, community, policy] may be assigned to CIHB.
  
  
• With the Biobehavioral and Behavioral Processes [BBBP] IRG: Studies of personality disorders that focus on socioenvironmental and community level characteristics may be assigned to CIHB. Studies that focus on the individual level may be assigned to the BBBP IRG.
  
  
• With the Oncological Sciences [ONC] IRG: The ONC IRG also reviews applications directed toward the prevention and treatment of cancer. Studies to influence behavior related to these conditions and that emphasize a community or societal context (e.g., worksite, church, school, mass media) and that do not involve an intervention may be referred to CIHB. Applications dealing with chemoprevention and modulation of cancer risks could be assigned to the ONC IRG.
  
  
• With the Cardiovascular Sciences [CVS] IRG: Studies that examine risky and/or protective behaviors related to cardiovascular health that also emphasize a community or societal context (e.g., worksite, church, school, mass media) and do not involve an intervention may be referred to CIHB. Applications on cardiovascular diseases, disorders, or functional consequences of behaviors could be assigned to the CVS IRG.
  
  
• With the Endocrinology, Metabolism, Nutrition and Reproductive Sciences [EMNR] IRG: Studies of risk and/or protective factors regarding human nutrition patterns, or diabetes or obesity that emphasize a community or societal context (e.g., worksite, church, school, mass media) and do not involve a community-based intervention may be referred to CIHB. Applications on diabetes, obesity or nutritional diseases, disorders, or functional consequences of behaviors could be assigned to the EMNR IRG.
  
  
• With the Musculoskeletal, Oral and Skin Sciences [MOSS] IRG: The MOSS IRG also reviews applications directed toward the prevention and treatment of oral and dental health, osteoporosis and other bone diseases, arthritis and dermatological conditions. Studies to influence behavior related to these conditions and that emphasize a community or societal context (e.g., worksite, church, school, mass media) and that do not involve an intervention may be referred to CIHB. Applications on the diseases, disorders or functional consequences of behaviors could be assigned to the MOSS IRG.
  
  
•  Study sections in NIAAA, NIDA and NIMH may review applications in treatment and health services research. For more information, see the Institutes' respective web sites.