Completed BBCSS Project

Committee on Future Research Directions for Behavioral and Social Sciences Research at the National Institutes of Health

Publication: New Horizons in Health: An Integrative Approach

A study committee, established under the auspices of the Board on Behavioral, Cognitive, and Sensory Sciences, will evaluate the potential contributions of behavioral and social science research to the mission of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The charge to the committee is to develop a set of research priorities for consideration by the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR), with particular attention to research that can support and complement the work of the several NIH Institutes. The committee will consider the intersections among the social, behavioral, and biological sciences and the nation's health needs. It will address the range of interactions among social settings, behavioral patterns, and important health concerns, seeking areas of scientific opportunity, where significant investment is most likely to improve national and global health outcomes. In identifying opportunities to apply the knowledge and methods of the behavioral and social sciences to contemporary health needs, attention will be given to the chief health concerns of the general public.