2012 NIH Summer Institute on
Social and Behavioral Intervention Research

Date
July 9-13, 2012

Location
Columbia University School of Social Work
1255 Amsterdam Avenue
New York, NY 10027

Course Objectives

The NIH Summer Institute will address essential conceptual, methodological, and practical issues involved in planning and carrying out research on the impact of behavioral and social interventions on health outcomes, health behavior, and treatment.  Such interventions are relevant to NIH public health goals of preventing morbidity and mortality and promoting health and well-being for persons with medical and behavioral disorders and conditions.

The Institute is intended for junior investigators who have COMPLETED THEIR DOCTORATE and who plan to develop NIH grant applications for research in this area. Faculty (mentors) will include established investigators from relevant social work and other fields. Participants will be expected to submit a draft NIH grant application to their respective mentors by September 1, 2012 (tentative). 
 
Major Topics

• Overview of conceptualizing, designing, and testing behavioral/social interventions
• Use of empirical evidence, theory and clinical practice in formulating study aims and hypotheses
• Designing, testing and adapting behavioral and social interventions for diverse populations 
• Finding the appropriate mechanism (i.e., R03, R21, R34, or R01) to support the research
• Measurement–selecting measures, assessing validity and reliability; measurement models and conceptual models
• Planning the data analysis – statistical power, mixed effects linear model, latent mixture model, moderator/mediator models, and related issues
• Critical issues in implementing the study:   eligibility, recruitment, enrollment, intervention fidelity, intervention and assessment adherence, and the organizational structure
• Participants will be requested to prepare draft outlines of different sections of the proposal (i.e., aims, significance, innovation, approach and analysis) for a NIH grant application during the training.  These drafts will be critiqued in small group sessions followed by a debriefing with the entire group.  The small groups will be guided by a faculty mentor. The debriefing sessions will entail presenting a summary report of the small group meetings and a list of questions, issues and concerns that emerge from the small groups.

Background

in May 2003, the National Institutes of Health developed the first trans-institute plan for social work research. This document, dubbed the NIH Plan for Social Work Research, made a series of recommendations to further enhance this area of research in the extramural program. One of the proposed initiatives was for NIH to conduct a Summer Institute on Social Work Research. This initiative would focus in 2004 on qualitative and mixed research methods and in 2005 on behavioral and social intervention research—these methodologies are frequently mentioned research infrastructure and training needs in this field.

Specifically, the NIH plan proposed to:

Develop and implement an NIH Summer Institute on Social Work Research offering new researchers intensive exposure to issues and challenges in the field of social work research. The program of the Summer Institute would include lectures, seminars, and small group discussions in research design relative to social work as it relates to health, discussion sessions on methodological approaches and interventions, and consultation on the development of research interests and advice on preparing and submitting research grant applications to the NIH.

Institute Format

Participants will spend mornings in instructional sessions with experts in intervention research. Early afternoons will be spent in small groups with faculty mentors working on different aspects of their proposals (i.e., aims, approach and analysis).  Participants will be assigned to a particular group based upon their own interests and selected topics associated with the proposed research. Each group will be assigned a mentor (faculty) whose expertise and background is closely linked with participants’ interests or selected topics.  Participants will re-convene in late afternoons to discuss issues and share their work (i.e., a debriefing session) with the entire group. It is expected that participants will work on their proposals during the evening hours.

Participants will need to bring a laptop to participate in the Summer Institute.

Cost

No fee is charged for the Summer Institute. Room and board and materials will be covered by NIH. Travel expenses will be reimbursed at the conclusion of the Institute.

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