“Health Behavior and Chronic Disease” June 6-9, 2007

1. Pittsburgh Mind-Body CenterSummer Institute “Health Behavior and Chronic Disease”June 6-9, 2007 Co-Leaders: Vicki S. Helgeson & Michele Levine

2. Pittsburgh

3. University of Pittsburgh & Carnegie Mellon University

4. Theme is to “understand the shared pathways—psychological, behavioral, and psychobiological—connecting chronic burdens and resources with onset and recovery from illness”

5. Psychological Pathways Chronic Burdens and Resource Bank: Biological Pathways * Demographics * Social/environmental Disability * Personal attributes & Disease Psychosocial Interventions Precipitating Behavioral Events Pathways: Health habits, Restorative activities Life Span Development/Aging

6. Two forms of the PMBC Summer Institute • Basic Pathways Linking Behavior & Disease • Behavioral Medicine Interventions

7. Basic Pathways Linking Behavior and Disease (2006-past; 2008 upcoming) • Provide an introduction to the ways in which behavioral factors or biobehavioral practices cause disease or affect pathophysiology, including identification of basic pathways linking health and behavior and sources of complexity inherent in studying them; • Describe and critically evaluate methodological approaches to the study of behavior inherent in diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, and infectious illnesses; • Provide knowledge and skills necessary for building etiological models of disease that feature behavioral factors as key components; and • Integrate conceptual models describing health and behavior relationships across groups and population subgroups.

8. Objectives of the 2007 Summer Institute • Provide a conceptual framework for behavioral medicine interventions to promote the ability to understand and evaluate behavioral medicine intervention research; • Expose participants to behavioral medicine interventions across different levels of intervention (i.e., interventions that target the individual, the health care provider, groups, the health care system, communities, society in general); • Familiarize participants with the evidence-based behavioral medicine interventions across different populations (i.e., children, adults, older adults, minority populations); • Familiarize participants with evidence-based behavioral medicine interventions across disorders using specific illnesses as exemplars (e.g., cancer, cardiovascular disease); and • Provide a hands-on introduction to training in behavioral medicine interventions (e.g., diet and exercise interventions, motivational interviewing).

9. Who is attending the 2007 Summer Institute? • 29 attendees • 20 Ph.D.’s, 9 M.D.’s (7 of these M.P.H.; 2 nursing) • Backgrounds in medicine, psychology, kinesiology, women’s studies, nursing and sociology • 12 local • 14 from other parts of the U.S. (California, New York, Texas, Massachusetts, Maryland, Ohio, North Carolina, Michigan, & West Virginia) • 1 from Cyprus • 1 from Canada • 1 from Japan

10. Format of the Institute • Morning lectures • Long lunches to encourage interactions with speakers, participants, members of PMBC • Panel sessions in the afternoon • Some themes: smoking, sleep, diet & physical activity • Diseases covered: cancer, diabetes, HIV, cardiovascular • Populations: Pediatric and adult • Reception on Wednesday • Dinner on Friday evening