Although 2022 delivered many new and ongoing challenges, I close out the year feeling satisfied that the behavioral and social sciences research portfolio at the NIH made a real difference and will continue to do so in the years to come.

In this blog I highlight just a few examples of exciting directions in the behavioral and social sciences at NIH that moved forward in 2022.

• Health Communication Research: In the behavioral and social science disciplines, we have long known that health communication is an important cornerstone for the advancement of public health and healthcare. Across the NIH research enterprise, the COVID-19 pandemic put a bright spotlight on the need for more research in this crucial area to better address effective communications in the face of a rapidly changing communication ecosystem, issues of inequity, and the proliferation of misinformation. To help address this need, an exciting new Common Fund initiative was approved by the NIH Council of Councils that focused on “Advancing Health Communication Science and Practice.” The goals of this new research program are to: 1) investigate, develop, test, and disseminate new approaches for effective health communication; 2) ensure equity in new health communication approaches; and 3) measure communication exposure and impact, address misinformation, engage communities, and build trust.
• Accelerate Behavioral Ontology Development and Use: As noted in a blog earlier this year, ontologies support transparent, reproducible, and replicable science by facilitating communication, comparison, integration, and reuse of data within and across-disciplines. I am pleased to share that a new initiative was approved to move forward that builds on over five years of work from an NIH behavioral ontology development working group that I co-chair with Dr. Janine Simmons and the recommendations of a National Academies Consensus Study: “Ontologies in the Behavioral Sciences: Accelerating Research and the Spread of Knowledge.” The planned new initiative will support a coordination and dissemination center as well as a network of independent but collaborative research projects focused on ontology development, dissemination, and use. See these links for the concept presentation and background document that was approved at the September 2022 Council of Councils meeting.
• Firearm Injury and Mortality Prevention Research: NIH has always had a commitment to and funded research in this area but, with three years of congressionally appropriated funds, NIH has been able to support some exciting new and expanded areas of research. In 2022, NIH funded a network focused on “Research on Community Level Interventions for Firearm and Related Violence, Injury and Mortality Prevention (CLIF-VP).” The research network includes a coordination center to serve as a resource to the field and three sites that have community partners as key personnel to support focused on research developing and testing prospective injury and mortality prevention interventions at the community or organizational level. OBSSR and our Institute and Center partners are well into planning for FY 2023. See this link for more details on some of the violence focused research initiatives at the NIH over the past few years.

Clearly there are MANY more examples I could share about the of advancement of behavioral and social sciences research. I hope this gives you a feel for some of the important and innovative research underway in this field at the NIH.

As I look toward 2023, I am confident that the behavioral and social sciences at NIH will continue to thrive and excel. I hope the end of the year brings you happiness and that you can welcome 2023 with good health, optimism, and wellbeing.