This newsletter is the last newsletter from me as the editor. It has been fun working with the newsletter, but it is time someone else takes over. I am happy to announce that Linda Cameron has accepted the position as the newsletter editor, beginning now. I will continue as the ISBM communication chair, and we will of course continue to publish the newsletter on the web.

The webpage have had 3546 hits since October 1 2004. Most of the hits are from the US, followed by Norway, UK, The Netherlands, Mexico, Sweden, Japan, Canada, Finland, and Australia, all whom have had more than 100 hits. The past month the web page had 475 hits. It is important that all members make sure that the information on the web is currently updated, and that new events are being posted. If there are things you are missing on the web site, please let us know. We will also appreciate if you take a look at specific information and links related to yourself or your society and give us feedback if there is anything missing. You will also notice a section called important dates. Please let us know if there are important events coming up that we should link to.

You will find the main events our members should be aware of in the letter from the president.

Hege R. Eriksen
Newsletter editor

ISBM - A poor kid with a bright mind?

ISBM is making another historical step in having the forthcoming Governing council meeting to take place in Mexico City, 13 June 2005. Because of the kind invitation by Dra Graciela Rodriguez Ortega, President and founder of the Mexican Society of Behavioral Medicine, we have the possibility to widen our regional awareness from the 12 June onward when we gather for the Board and Strategic planning committee meetings in perhaps the largest city of the world. From 14 June onwards the 1 st Latin-American and Caribbean Regional Meeting on Behavioral Medicine (www.medicinaconductual.org.mx) is in session. I am happy to say the Regional Meeting program, gathered by Graciela and her colleagues together with Brian Oldenburg and Arja R. Aro looks very interesting, worthy of having a serious look at, and to participate.

The 2006 International congress planning has proceeded under some challenging circumstances. At the end of 2004, news about the Indian Ocean Tsunami sounded threatening - we became anxious about the fate our colleagues living in the area, and also how that might affect our Bangkok congress planning. In spite of significant human toll, e.g. in Thailand, our colleagues Drs. Nick and Nittaya Kotchabhakdi remained safe and continued to work with members of the program committee to produce such a wonderful and exciting program for the 2006 meeting at Sofitel Central Plaza Hotel, Bangkok, November 29-December 2, 2006 that can be found in the internet (www.9icbm-2006.org). Everything we need to know is already given there - well, almost everything. We just have the challenge to create the main program bulk - submit our abstracts for the program committee and track chairs to evaluate and make a program of. The reserved for the most of us, active participants of that meeting. The abstract submission period starts on 1 July this year and closes the most abstracts by 1 April 2006. Save for the rapid communication posters the whole congress program should be ready by May 2006.

Since the Board meeting in Bangkok (minutes in the member section of the ISBM website (www.isbm.info) last December much effort has been put into ISBM regional strategy planning. As the two next international congresses ( Bangkok, and Tokyo 2008) are scheduled for Asia this also signifies the importance of regions other than Western and Northern Europe, Northern America or Australasia. The Board, its members and other colleagues have been very active with sharing their views with me and helping me to find the best possible ways to move ahead. This dialogue, as well as discussions that are without doubt due, will give us an excellent base for ensuing Governing council decisions.

With the help of some specific fundraising and input from the ISBM budget by the decision of the Board helped to start the Central and Eastern Europe Behavioral Medicine (CEEBMNET) Network under the leadership of Maria S. Kopp and coordinated by Mónika Kovács. On the basis of the news from Mónika the network seems to be in a state active development. As a token the net organizes its first symposium in Targu-Mures, Romania, 14-16 October 2005 (see www.ceebm-net.hu ). ISBM will be thoroughly informed about the initial stages of the CEEBMNET and its most immediate future plans at the Mexico City Governing council meeting.

Regional strategy has also been one of the keywords in the Education and Training committee most recent activities. A regional network in Education and Training already exists. The membership committee, among others, is actively engaged in identifying possible new countries or regions to form new member societies. Human resources does ISBM have plenty, but what about money? After all, science spells money as the saying goes.

ISBM a better off than ever before, but by no means rich. Can ISBM become more wealthy? Perhaps not so easy, and at least, not so much. Royalties do not bring money worthy of much mentioning at present. Being an organization of organizations limits the income from membership fees, but of course this is discussion topic for the Governing council also. The most important source of income this far has been the fee from the international congresses. Can the proportion of ISBM share of the congress profit (25 USD per paying participant) be increased and if so, under what conditions this might be possible is another challenging quest for the Governing council.

Although money is not a motive for being with ISBM some more of that resource would be very proactive. ISBM gives a small budget to its executives as I think it should do in the future, too. In addition, it would be very helpful for the executives to have some administrative help receiving compensation for the part time work they are doing. And it would be great to be able to help, say novel regional projects of same kind as the CEEBMNET is whenever excellent proposals are submitted. For the latter there may be a useful source in some international funds, for former I think we have to be self-sufficient.

My feeling is that decisions made at the Mexico City by Governing council, involving matters mentioned above and others, will be extremely important. Knowing this possibility we, the Board and Governing council, have to work very hard indeed between this date and early June and to use the Board and Strategic Planning meetings efficiently. During this process, I am sure, each one of us at the Board or Governing council would be glad to have contacts to our membership for information and/or suggestions for solutions.

Best wishes,
Take good care,

Antti Uutela
President

PS. Amidst all the activities early March this year the news from Uppsala struck us bearing the information on the untimely death of our distinguished colleague professor Per-Olow Sjöden. He has done much nationally and internationally to advance behavioral medicine. Many of us remember him, e.g., as the debater in the ultimate professional session at the 7 th International Congress of Behavioral Medicine in Helsinki 2002. To acknowledge our sorrow and gratitude ISBM has made a donation in Per-Olow Sjöden's name to the Swedish Cancer Memorial Fund in Uppsala.

Even the most effective interventions cannot be disseminated where they are needed if the required delivery infrastructure is lacking, including national dissemination centers, training institutions, professional associations, monitoring and evaluation systems, and so on. Mapping a country's existing infrastructure illuminates assets and deficits and provides evidence that advocates can use to prompt essential infrastructure investments. Addressing this issue is HP-Source.net, a voluntary, global collaboration of researchers, practitioners and policy makers, having the common goal to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of health intervention by developing a uniform system for collecting information on national-level policies, infrastructures and practices. The project creates databases and an access strategy so that information can be accessed at inter-country, country and intra-country levels, by policy makers, international public health organizations and researchers. HP-Source.net assists users to analyze the databases to support optimum effectiveness and efficiency of health promotion policy, infrastructure and practice. HP-Source.net collects quantitative and qualitative data in these categories: politics, policies and priorities; evaluation; monitoring and/or surveillance; knowledge development; program implementation; information dissemination for healthcare professionals; professional workforce development; funding. Data are collected with reference to national health promotion capacity in general, but also with regard to specific subject areas. For example, HP-Source.net and other partners have launched specialty data sets on European mental health promotion capacity and on European alcohol policy. As the HP-Source.net project expands, other specialty data sets will be established in Europe and elsewhere. For more information see www.hp-source.net or write to the HP-Source Coordinating Centre at the University of Bergen : maurice.mittelmark@psyhp.uib.no.

The ISBM Special Interest Group on Global Biological Health Threats (GLOBIOTH ) organizes a joint workshop with EUPHA Section Infectious Disease Control at the EUPHA 2005 conference, in November, in Graz, Austria . (EUPHA=European Public Health Association). The title of the workshop is Assessment, management, perception and communication of risk: the lessons of SARS.

ISBM collaborates in organizing the GOAL International Teaching Seminar 2005: Applying the evidence base to prevent disease and improve health in Lahti, Finland, 6-8 June 2005. The seminar has attracted 30 participants from five continents. More information: pilvikki.absetz@ktl.fi, http://www.ktl.fi/portal/english/events/?id=309, and http://www.isbm.info/html/news.html

With funding support from the National Institutes of Health (NHLBI and NCI), we plan to apply to register a Behavioral Medicine (BM) Field within The Cochrane Collaboration. Our goal is to ultimately improve practice by increasing the visibility of intervention trials and systematic reviews on BM interventions (see www.cochrane.org/newslett/ccnews33_lowres.pdf for more information on our process/progress).

Systematic reviews of BM interventions are being conducted by Cochrane affiliates. Almost half of The Cochrane Top 50 Reviews (2) for January through March of 2005 are within the scope of BM (e.g., cognitive behavior therapy, diet and exercise, support, adherence to medications, etc). To read an abstract of these reviews, go to www.cochrane.org , click on "Cochrane Reviews," then "Abstracts and Access" and search by title (e.g., "Exercise for osteoarthritis of the hip or knee"), keywords (e.g., exercise & osteoarthritis), or Review Group (e.g., Musculoskeletal Group). The full reviews are available through The Cochrane Library . Many organizations have a subscription to this important evidence-based resource.

In sum, summaries of BM literature are highly sought by those who utilize The Cochrane Library . Our hope is that you will help us augment this evidence-base. We envisage that BM will substantially contribute to the Cochrane work as we jointly build our expertise, and our evidence base.

Please contact Kimberlee Trudeau at kimberlee.trudeau@mssm.edu to get involved in these activities (e.g., join our BM Field listserve).

Kimberlee J. Trudeau, Louise Falzon, & Karina W. Davidson

(1) A more detailed version of this article was submitted to the SBM newsletter Outlook for publication in May 2005.

(2) Pentesco-Gilbet, D. DPentesc@wiley.co.uk . 04/20/2005 March Top 50 Accessed Reviews on Wiley InterScience. Mailing list email to: tscs@list.maryland.edu

The European Health Psychology Conference 2005 (EHPS 2005) will be held at the National University of Ireland, Galway from August 31st to September 3rd, 2005.

Conference Theme is - Enhancing Individual, Family & Community Health.

http://www.ehps2005.com