Social and Behavioral Health
Sciences Research
Julie Baldwin, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of
Community & Family Health
University of South Florida
The Social and Behavioral Sciences:
Core Concepts
• Anthropology
• Sociology
• Demography
• Psychology
Social & Behavioral Sciences
Objectives
• Develop theories, models or conceptual
frameworks to explain health behavior or health
problems
• Test hypotheses based on those theories
• Use results to design effective interventions
– Efficacy trials in controlled settings
– Effectiveness in natural settings
Social and Behavioral Science
Characteristics
• Use scientific method
– Organized way of asking questions and
analyzing data
– Objective, replicable, verifiable & precise
• We are influenced by socio-cultural
environment
– Must be aware of assumptions made as interpret
others behavior
Social Science Methods
• Interviewing - formal interaction between
researcher and participant
• Observation of phenomena in their natural
environment
• Experimental design - manipulating situation in
order to test behavior patterns
Theory
• Set of interrelated concepts, definitions, &
propositions that present systematic view of
phenomena by specifying relations among
variables, with the purpose of explaining
and predicting phenomenon
– Generality
– Testability
• Models and conceptual frameworks
Emergence of
Social Ecology Model
• After ‘sanitary awakening’, many problems
remain
–
Unequal distribution in population
• Replacement of infectious diseases with chronic
diseases
– Required understanding of health behavior
Unifying Model:
Social Ecology Model
• Builds on traditional model (host-agentenvironment)
• Incorporates social environmental variables into
model
• Highlights socio-cultural context
• Directs attention to complex, multiple
conditions and processes
• Problems viewed within broader context of
social and physical environment
SEM Is Multilayered
• Human relationship to disease and health ordered
into different layers:
– Individual
– Social
– Family
– Community
– Living and working conditions
– Broad conditions
– State
– Global
Social Ecology Model-Visual
Social Ecology Model-Visual
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Broad Conditions and Policies
• Institutions
– Church policies and relations
– Educational policies
– Economic conditions
• Broad social conditions
– Income inequality
– Urbanization
– Racism
• State level policies
• Global systems
– Trade agreements
Living and Working Conditions
•
•
•
•
Employment status
Occupational hazards
SES
Environment
–
–
–
–
Transportation
Water and sanitation
Housing
Park facilities
• Public health, health, and social services
Interpersonal or Social
• Family networks and dynamics
• Community factors
– Social cohesion
– Environmental factors
– Crime
• Others
Individual or Intrapersonal Level
• Biological or innate characteristics
• Social characteristics
• Individual behavior
IOM Report Recommendations
• Need to understand the social ecology model
(SME)
• Use SME to identify pathways and design
effective interventions
• Recognize and address interactions between
determinants
• Acknowledge need for multiple approaches
Other Skills
• Community collaboration
• Ability to work with stakeholders
– Businesses
– Media
– Academia
• Interdisciplinary research
• Team work
• Advocacy and policy development
Examples of SBS Research in
HIV/AIDS Prevention
• Preventive Interventions
• Measurement/Assessments
• Translational research
Preventive interventions
• Elucidate factors linked to HIV/AIDS
acquisition and transmission and
develop and test innovative, multi-level
preventive interventions
Preventive Interventions:
Study Examples
1) Exploring the role of stigma as it may influence
risk behaviors associated with HIV acquisition
and transmission
2) Formative studies on HIV-related behaviors in
HIV+ adolescents
3) Developing and testing theoretically-based and
culturally sensitive HIV preventive
interventions targeting individual, social, and
environmental factors for vulnerable
populations
Measurement/Assessment
• Measurement quality – developing instruments,
establishing reliability and validity of measures,
and ensuring the cultural appropriateness of
measures
• Administrative methods – testing different
methods for collecting data
• Research designs – using state-of-the art
research designs and mixed-methods approaches
to evaluate programs
Measurement/Assessment
Examples
1)Assessment of measures of behavioral skills
required for sexual risk reduction
2)Studies related to measurement of knowledge of
risk and acquisition of STIs, including HIV and
HPV
3)Measurement of sociocultural and structural
determinants of HIV disparities in particular
populations
4) Evaluation of HIV/AIDS prevention programs
Translational
Research/Community
Engagement
• Foster cross-disciplinary dissemination and
implementation science with the ultimate
goal of improving public health and clinical
practice settings through the availability,
adoption, adaptation, and sustained
maintenance of evidence-based
HIV/AIDS preventive services
Translational Research Examples
1) Identify culturally appropriate HIV/AIDS
research methodologies for engaging and
collaborating with communities
2) Characterize the factors necessary for
increased implementation of recommended
HIV prevention services
3) Translate effective prevention and adherence
programs into practice; integrate programs
across mental health, drug abuse treatment and
public health care systems