New encyclopedia covers the interdisciplinary field of behavioral medicine

The Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine, with more than 1.200 entries, is the first encyclopedia devoted to the interdisciplinary field of behavioral medicine. An international advisory board consisting of the leadership and past leadership of the Society of Behavioral Medicine and the International Society of Behavioral Medicine guarantees the high quality of the contributions and ensures that the field will be covered from a global perspective.

The overarching content structure is based on the three fundamental domains within behavioral medicine, which yield three sections:

Section I: Basic Research

The domain of basic research addresses the key questions of mechanisms of action, both in terms of how behavior can have a deleterious effect on health, and how a change in behavior can be beneficial, either preventatively or therapeutically.

Section II: Clinical Investigation

The domain of clinical investigation then translates this knowledge into clinical interventions on a patient-by-patient basis.

Section III: Public Health

The third domain takes the broad view of how behavioral medicine can impact public health, and the system-wide/public education and advocacy/political activities that are needed to facilitate maximum benefits at the global level.

Behavioral medicine is indeed a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary field. Researching mechanisms of action requires a detailed knowledge of human biology, starting from the molecular genetic level and progressing to fully interacting body systems. A thorough understanding of environmental interactions with biological functioning is also necessary. The domain of basic research and clinical investigation are linked by the increasingly important concept of translational medicine, i.e., how to translate our mechanistic knowledge and understanding into successful clinical interventions most effectively and efficiently. The final challenge is to address these interventions at the public health level.

Provided by Springer