Behavioral and social sciences research (BSSR) is essential to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) mission. Because BSSR provides valuable insights into human behavior—including how individuals and groups think, feel, behave, and interact—findings from BSSR can inform interventions and public health strategies to directly affect health outcomes.
Incorporating BSSR into the broad NIH research enterprise helps address health disparities, promote health equity, and ensure that interventions are culturally sensitive and responsive to the needs of diverse populations. BSSR plays a critical role in producing robust scientific knowledge and translating that knowledge into practical applications that benefit the health of all people.
Our Mission
To enhance the impact of health-related BSSR by:
- Identifying gaps and opportunities for BSSR
- Integrating BSSR within the larger NIH research enterprise
- Developing and coordinating BSSR initiatives with the NIH Institutes, Centers, and Offices (ICOs)
- Communicating significant BSSR findings within NIH and beyond
Our Vision
The synergistic integration of behavioral and social sciences in health research leading to accelerated scientific discovery, effective treatment and health-promotion interventions, and equitable implementation strategies to improve health for all.
The OBSSR Strategic Plan includes key priorities for advancing innovation, collaboration, and engagement in behavioral and social sciences research across NIH in support of OBSSR’s mission and vision.
History of OBSSR
OBSSR was created by Congress in 1993, in recognition of the importance of behavioral and social sciences to the NIH mission. Since opening in 1995, OBSSR has been instrumental in advancing and coordinating BSSR at NIH. NIH already had a long history of supporting health-related BSSR, and the results of this work have contributed significantly to our understanding of the basic underlying mechanisms and treatment of mental and physical health and illness. Establishing an office focused specifically on the behavioral and social contributions to mental and physical well-being enables NIH to build on existing efforts and develop synergy across its multiple institutes, centers, and scientific disciplines.
Commemorating OBSSR: A History in Milestones
OBSSR developed a historical record highlighting key events, accomplishments, major efforts, and leadership. A key objective of the office has always been to stimulate emerging areas of behavioral and social sciences, integrate these fields into NIH's mission, and train the next generation of behavioral and social science researchers.
Although behavioral and social sciences were part of the NIH mission long before OBSSR was established, OBSSR has been instrumental in accelerating these sciences, coordinating them within the NIH research enterprise, and strengthening their integration across NIH.
