[BMRD Membership Roster] [BMRD Meeting Rosters]

The Biostatistical Methods and Research Design (BMRD) Study Section reviews applications that seek to advance statistical and mathematical techniques and technologies applicable to the design and analysis of data from biomedical, behavioral, and social science research.  Emphasis is on the promotion of quantitative methods to aid in the design, analysis, and interpretation of clinical and population based research studies.   Specific areas covered by BMRD:

• Research design: development and adaptation of methods for survey sample design; sample size determination; design issues for experimental and observational studies; randomized trial designs; methods to improve study design efficiencies
• Data collection and measurement:  development and adaptation of methods to estimate and improve data precision, reliability, and validity; methods to estimate and adjust for bias, measurement error, confounding, sampling and non-sampling error; psychometric methods
• Data analysis and modeling: development of statistical theory, analytic methods and models, computational tools and algorithms for the analysis and interpretation of data from clinical studies, randomized trials, epidemiological studies, human genetic association studies, environmental studies, and complex surveys; methods to handle data features and anomalies such as correlation, clustering, missing and skewed data; risk prediction and forecasting methods; causal modeling; high dimensional data methods

Study Sections with most closely related areas of similar science listed in rank order are:

Epidemiology of Cancer [EPIC] 
Cardiovascular and Sleep Epidemiology [CASE] 
Biodata Management and Analysis [BDMA] 
Genomics, Computation Biology and Technology [GCAT] 
Modeling and Analysis of Biological Systems [MABS] 

[CLHP Membership Roster] [CLHP Meeting Rosters]

The Community-Level Health Promotion [CLHP] Study Section reviews applications that test the efficacy of interventions that focus on the prevention of health risk behaviors and/or adherence to disease treatments across the lifespan. 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. 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. Specific areas covered by CLHP:

• Social environment change, including approaches based on policy development, change, implementation, and enforcement; information dissemination; health promotion; organization or reorganization in communities, schools, worksites or other relevant environment settings; and sports medicine and exercise.
• Community and organizational interventions of randomized experimental and quasi-experimental design in which the unit of assignment is the community or other multi-person entity; interventions that utilize community resources, organizations and information systems for outreach, health education or service delivery; natural experiments; social and organizational networks as systems for intervention delivery; and studies of organization and community characteristics and change processes underlying successful intervention implementation.
• Studies of the adoption and dissemination of health-risk behavior preventive interventions or adherence to treatment and/or complementary treatments.

Study sections with most closely related areas of similar science listed in rank order are:

Psychosocial Development, Risk, and Prevention Study Section [PDRP]
Psychosocial Risk and Disease Prevention Study Section [PRDP]
Risk, Prevention and Intervention for Addictions Study Section [RPIA]
Behavioral and Social Consequences of HIV/AIDS Study Section [BSCH]

[CIHB Membership Roster] [CIHB Meeting Rosters]

The Community Influences on Health Behavior [CIHB] Study Section reviews applications concerned with 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 biopsychosocial factors. The applications may examine 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.  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.

• Socioenvironmental influences on health, behavior, development, and disparities may include social class, deprivation and socioeconomic conditions, cultural factors and processes, institutional structures and constraints, social organization, interactions and social networks, neighborhood and regional characteristics, media, policies, social and family group membership and interactions, and racial and ethnic identity.
• Studies of the social, cultural, and socioenvironmental contexts in which health, disease, behavior and normal development are embedded may include studies of acculturation; diffusion; ideational belief and behavior change; interpersonal communication processes, development of the meaning of health and illness and implications; family structure and functioning; networks and social support; power relations; economic inequality; ethnic, racial and class identity; and social, cultural, institutional, and community change.
• Studies of social environment change may include a focus on policy development, change, and enforcement; legal analyses of policies and their implementation; information dissemination; and health promotion.  In addition, the contexts may include communities, schools, worksites or other relevant environment settings.

Study sections with most closely related areas of similar science listed in rank order are:

Community-Level Health Promotion [CLHP] 
Health Services Organization and Delivery [HSOD] 
Risk, Prevention and Intervention for Addictions [RPIA] 
Behavioral Genetics and Epidemiology [BGES] 

[BCHI Membership Roster] [BCHI Meeting Rosters]

The Biomedical Computing and Health Informatics [BCHI] Study Section reviews applications that focus on informatics, using a biomedical discovery, process or clinical question to demonstrate and/or validate the informatics and computing approaches.  The emphasis is on direct population applications. Applications in which informatics is used as a tool in the biomedical discovery process, or to support clinical studies, would be assigned to the scientific review group dealing with the particular biomedical or clinical topics.  Specific areas covered include:

• Application of human-centered computing (human-machine interfaces), intelligent systems, virtual environments, computer-assisted diagnosis and treatment systems with data including  imaging data and telemedicine to biomedical and clinical systems, including the study of collaboration to engineer-usable effective software systems.
• Application of modeling and simulation methods to various levels of normal and pathophysiological processes. Mathematical modeling of physiological functions/systems, where the outcome is of medical/clinical import and the purpose of the model is to inform medical decision making. Application of data analysis, management and mining in the areas of electronic medical records, picture archiving, tele-imaging, robotics, consumer informatics, and population-based databases.
• Medical and biomedical knowledge and information-management systems, including ontologies and controlled vocabularies.
• Application of clinical and biomedical software engineering, including validation of software in clinical settings.
• Application of advanced computing architectures to questions in biomedical and clinical information and knowledge management.

Study sections with most closely related areas of similar science listed in rank order are:

Biomedical Imaging Technology  
Small Business Biomedical Imaging 
Bioengineering, Technology and Surgical Sciences 
Small Business Biomedical Sensing, Measurement and Instrumentation 
Bioengineering Sciences and Technologies 
Neurotechnology 

[HSOD Membership Roster] [HSOD Meeting Rosters]

The Health Services Organization and Delivery (HSOD) Study Section reviews health services research studies that include multidisciplinary investigations of the predictors, processes and outcomes of health services, including availability, access and acceptability; organization; decision-making; delivery, utilization, and quality of care; and costs, cost-effectiveness and financing of health care.  Health services include inpatient, outpatient, sub-acute, acute, community-based, rehabilitative and long-term care.  Specific areas covered by HSOD: 

• Community, provider, economic, technological, and management resources and support, including studies of supply and area market behaviors; health care provider characteristics; health insurance, reimbursement, and financing mechanisms; health care management technology and assessment of emerging technology; health care delivery system characteristics.
• Health needs and health services utilization; studies of severity of illness; comorbidity; risk prediction and risk adjustment; psychosocial and economic factors related to health care; and adherence to health care recommendations.
• Healthcare organizations, programs, and delivery of services; integrated care delivery systems; disease management and modeling; continuous quality improvement; characteristics of the organization and patient outcomes; organizational performance and efficiency; cost-benefit analysis; economics of health care and pharmacoeconomics.
• Healthcare quality, effectiveness, and outcomes; clinical practice guidelines; treatment outcomes; patient and provider satisfaction; health status and outcomes assessment; evidence-based practice; health-related quality of life; medical decision-making.
• Health disparities; access to health care; cost of health care; organizational programs for health advocacy; evaluation of public-private collaborative and inter-organizational network services delivery; formal and informal care provision.

Study sections with most closely related areas of similar science listed in rank order are:

Nursing Science: Adults and Older Adults Study Section [NSAA] 
Social Sciences and Population Studies Study Section [SSPS] 
Community Influences on Health Behavior Study Section [CIHB] 
Community-Level Health Promotion Study Section [CLHP] 
Behavioral Medicine Interventions and Outcomes Study Section [BMIO]   

[NSAA Membership Roster] [NSAA Meeting Rosters]

The Nursing Science: Adults and Older Adults (NSAA) Study Section reviews applications that address the science that underpins clinical practice and is concerned with preventing, delaying the onset, and slowing the progression of disease and disability among mid-life and older adults.  Emphasis is on elucidating approaches to achieve and sustain a healthy lifestyle, easing the symptoms of illness, improving quality of life for patients and caregivers, reducing health disparities, and addressing issues at the end-of-life.  Specific areas targeting mid-life and older adults covered by NSAA:

• Health promotion and disease prevention, including studies on healthy aging; exercise; nutrition; health risk behaviors; biomarkers to assess disease risk and response to treatment; women’s health, such as the menopausal transition; and men’s health.
• Clinical management of adults with acute and chronic illnesses, including studies on clinical decision-making; self-care behaviors; functional status; quality of life; adherence; provider-patient communication; caregiver issues; symptom management; new technologies to improve clinical care; and care at the end-of-life.
• Health disparities research, including studies on the needs of racial and ethnic minorities and other health disparity groups with limited access to care; potential mechanisms underlying health disparities; and interventions aimed at reducing risk factors for disparate health outcomes.
• Health care delivery research related to patient outcomes, including studies on patient outcomes of acute, long-term, home, and community health care; and quality, cost-effectiveness and informatics issues.

Study Sections with most closely related areas of similar science listed in rank order:

Behavioral Medicine Interventions and Outcomes [BMIO] 
Psychosocial Development, Risk and Prevention [PDRP] 
Neurological, Aging, and Musculoskeletal Epidemiology [NAME] 
Adult Psychopathology and Disorders of Aging [APDA] 

[NSCF Membership Roster] [NSCF Meeting Rosters]

The Nursing Science: Children and Families Study Section (NSCF) reviews applications that address the science that underpins clinical practice and is concerned with preventing, delaying the onset, and slowing the progression of disease and disability from preconception to young adulthood.  Emphasis is on elucidating approaches to achieve and sustain healthy family functioning, promoting healthy lifestyles and behaviors, reducing health disparities, easing the symptoms of illness, addressing issues at the end-of-life, and improving quality of life for patients, caregivers and families.  Specific areas targeting infants, children, adolescents, and young adults covered by NSCF:

• Health promotion and disease prevention, including studies on normal growth and development; maturational processes; pregnancy; parenting; family functioning; exercise; nutrition; obesity prevention; health risk behaviors; injury prevention; and biomarkers to assess disease risk and response to treatment.
• Clinical management in acute and chronic illnesses, including studies on clinical decision-making; self-care behaviors; functional status; quality of life; adherence; provider-patient communication; caregiver issues; family illness management; new technologies to improve clinical care; and care at the end-of-life.
• Health disparities research, including studies on the needs of racial and ethnic minorities and other health disparity groups with limited access to care; potential mechanisms underlying health disparities; and interventions aimed at reducing risk factors for disparate health outcomes. 
• Health care delivery research related to patient outcomes, including studies on patient outcomes of acute, long-term, home, and community health care; and quality, cost-effectiveness and informatics issues.

Study Sections with most closely related areas of similar science listed in rank order:

Behavioral Medicine Interventions and Outcomes [BMIO] 
Psychosocial Development, Risk and Prevention [PDRP] 
Child Psychopathology and Developmental Disabilities [CPDD] 

  [SBIR/STTR Rosters]

HOP IRG Small Business [SBIR/STTR] applications seek to understand and elaborate the broader socioenvironmental contexts in which health and health-related behavior are embedded and to examine the interaction of these socioenvironmental factors with the health and health-related behavior of individuals and populations are reviewed within dedicated special emphasis panels within the HOP IRG. The socioenvironmental factors studied 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. The following Special Emphasis Panels are included in HOP Small Business Activities:  Small Business: Health of the Population [HOP (10)] and Small Business Occupational Health [HOP (11)].

HOP Small Business SEPs have the following interests outside the IRG: 

• With the Hematology [HEME] IRG: Studies of behavioral modification, including health education or training, directed toward the prevention and treatment of hematological diseases, including psychological aspects, could be assigned to the RPHB or to the HOP IRG, depending upon the level of analysis and the nature of the intervention. Applications focused on hematological diseases, disorders, or functional consequences of behaviors could be assigned to HEME. Health education or training directed to the health care provider, not the patient, may also be assigned to the HEME IRG.
  
  
• With the Cardiovascular Sciences [CVS] IRG: Studies of behavioral modification, including health education or training, directed toward the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases, including psychological aspects, could be assigned to the RPHB or to the HOP IRG, depending upon the level of analysis and the nature of the intervention. Applications focused on cardiovascular diseases, disorders, or functional consequences of behaviors could be assigned to the CVS IRG. Health education or training directed to the health care provider, not the patient, may also be assigned to CVS.
  
  
• With the Musculoskeletal, Oral and Skin Sciences [MOSS] IRG: Studies of behavioral modification, including health education or training, directed toward the prevention and treatment of hematological diseases, including psychological aspects, could be assigned to the RPHB or to the HOP IRG, depending upon the level of analysis and the nature of the intervention. Applications focused on musculoskeletal, oral or skin diseases, disorders, or functional consequences of behaviors could be assigned to MOSS. Health education or training directed to the health care provider, not the patient, may also be assigned to the MOSS IRG.
  
  
• With the Digestive Sciences [DIG] IRG: Studies of behavioral modification, including health education or training, directed toward the prevention and treatment of digestive system diseases, including psychological aspects, could be assigned to the RPHB or to the HOP IRG, depending upon the level of analysis and the nature of the intervention. Applications focused on digestive diseases, disorders, or functional consequences of behaviors could be assigned to the DIG IRG. Health education or training directed to the health care provider, not the patient, may also be assigned to DIG.

 

Health and Health Related Behavior of Individuals and Populations

 

 

[Healthcare Delivery and Methodologies (HDM) Integrated Review Group]

[ F16 Roster ]

The F16 study section reviews fellowship applications concerned with the interaction of socioenvironmental factors with the health and health related behavior of individuals and populations.  Emphasis is placed on the influence of these factors on health, behavior and development; group or individual-level interventions to prevent or modify risk factors; population processes and their antecedents and consequences; health services research; epidemiological studies; and quantitative methodologies.