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ZERHOUNI TOUTS SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH
The new director of the National Institutes of Health, Elias Zerhouni, M.D., recently made some strong statements of support for the behavioral and social sciences amid his $28 billion-a-year biomedical enterprise.
Hosting a meeting of 20 representatives from the Coalition for the Advancement of Health Through Behavioral and Social Science Research, Dr. Zerhouni said, "The bill for the nation will be unbearable" in health and social costs without a recognition of the role of behavior. "When you look at the burden of illness based on behavior ... ipso facto ... we cannot ignore that."
Asked about the role of behavioral research at the NIH, he said, "I think the portfolio needs to be balanced based on scientific evidence." He said his goal is to find the 10 things that will accomplish 80 percent of the success in health research. "We are aware of the challenge in social and behavioral science. It's going to be front and center."
Finally, on the issue of health disparities, he said that "to call it a priority is wrong. It should be a core mission. It's like having water or electricity. It is something that permeates the entire concerns of NIH. 'Priority' to me has a connotation that it is temporary. I want to dispel that. ... And the president said that and the secretary (of HHS) has said that. It needs to be sort of ingrained. ... In five years, there should be no more talk about this being a priority."
Dr. Zerhouni was noncommittal about recommendations for restructuring of the NIH, citing the Office of Behavioral and Social Science Research as an example of how cross-Institute research can be done.
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