A small number of behavioral risk factors (e.g. tobacco use, poor quality diet, physical inactivity, obesity) now account for a third of the global chronic disease burden and half of all deaths from chronic disease (Ezzati, 2004; Mokdad et al, 2004). A growing evidence base supports the effectiveness of psychosocial interventions, alone or in conjunction with medical treatments, to prevent and treat health problems (Knowler, Barrett-Conner Fowler, et al, 2002; DeRubeis et al, 2005; Lancaster & Stead, 2005)  

All major health professions now endorse the policy of evidence-based practice.  Preconditions are thus established for professionals in the health and social sciences to acquire shared vocabulary and conceptual grounding that facilitate collaboration in transdisciplinary research and practice. Aims of the EBBP project are to create tools to improve research and practice training for psychosocial interventions, build the evidence base for behavioral treatments, and upgrade evidence-based behavioral practice. 

Goals to be achieved to accomplish the mission are: 

• Promote communication about traditions of evidence-based practice in the major health disciplines.
• Disseminate information about concepts, methods, and tools used in evidence-based practice.
• Provide educators with tools for teaching evidence-based concepts and skills to students and practitioners. 
• Foster research to practice translation and practice-based research.
• Help interventionists acquire skills to perform evidence-based behavioral interventions.

References

EBBP.org is funded by a National Library of Medicine contract N01-LM-6-3512 from the Office of Behavioral & Social Sciences Research, National Institutes of Health (N01-LM-6-3512) to Northwestern University.