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CHAD Symposium Report

CHAD, HWI Symposium draws diverse audience to learn about behavior change

Over 100 researchers from across campus attended The Science of Behavior Change Symposium on Friday, March 13. The event was co-sponsored by The Center on Health, Aging, and Disability and the Health and Wellness Initiative.

Paul Estabrooks, Director of the Center for Translational Obesity Research at Virginia Tech presented the keynote address, Evidence-based Practice to Practice-based Evidence. Dr. Estabrooks' main points were:

Take-away Notes

  • Traditional efficacy trials have not lead to broad dissemination or changes in population level physical activity
  • Partnerships that balance research and practice-based evidence provide a foundation for behavioral intervention development and testing
  • Movement beyond a singular focus on efficacy is the most important outcome

Dr. Estabrooks discussed the RE-AIM model, a systematic way for researchers, practitioners, and policy makers to evaluate health behavior interventions. The dimensions of RE-AIM are Reach, Efficacy/Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance. He also presented specific examples of practice-based evidence, including the Move More project.

View keynote slides »

Several University of Illinois faculty discussed health behavior research being conducted on the campus.

Health Behavior Research Topics

  • Dolores Albarracin from the Department of Psychology discussed ethnic and gender health disparities related to HIV/AIDS. She explained how these disparities impact the intervention process.
  • Ellen Evans from the Department of Kinesiology and Community Health highlighted on-going research projects targeting obesity on the Illinois campus. She focused on the challenges and opportunities of conducting interdisciplinary translational research.
  • Mary Keegan Eamon from the School of Social Work discussed child poverty rates and the consequences of poverty for the socio-emotional well-being of children. She presented an ecological systems model that helps identify factors that explain why poor children are at risk for socio-emotional problems.
  • Tarek Abdelzaher from the Department of Computer Sciences explained how advances in computing and sensing hardware, and ubiquitous networking technology enable applications such as sports and fitness, and eldercare. He described opportunities in this area, and technical challenges that need to be overcome.

Provost Linda Kathy provided opening remarks for the event. She discussed the importance of the work that the Center on Health, Aging, and Disability and the Health and Wellness Initiative are doing. Dean Tanya Gallagher from the College of Applied Health Sciences brought the formal sessions to a close by moderating a summative discussion.

The event concluded with a networking and poster session highlighting 24 health behavior research projects from across campus.

This year's Symposium was funded in part by the generous support of the Robert and Kay Merrick Family Endowment Fund.