The American Academy of Health Behavior


About the Academy

The Academy is based on the belief that the future growth and evolution of the health behavior research rests on a strong commitment to conducting and disseminating quality research. With a critical eye toward the future, four stewards forged a new course for the field built on a distinctive set of conceptual underpinnings:
  1. A perceived need to establish a meritocracy that acknowledges the competitive nature of the research environment, challenges members to produce quality research, and recognizes outstanding research contributions.
  2. To advance evidence-based practice that is produced from practice-based evidence.
  3. The need to mentor new health behavior researchers.
  4. The desire to overcome partisan, protective agendas of traditional disciplines by stimulating multi-disciplinary research and learning.
  5. The Academy informs and educates scholars about the latest in research innovations and focuses on quality research through its professional meetings and publications.

Mission of AAHB

The mission of the American Academy of Health Behavior™ is to serve as the “research home” for health behavior scholars and researchers whose primary commitment is to excellence in research and the application of research to practice to improve the public's health.

Values of AAHB

  • Commitment to and continuous engagement in science-based research
  • Conduct of new and innovative research
  • Pursuit of national health research priorities
  • Excellence in all aspects of The Academy
  • Honesty and integrity
  • Attention to consistency and detail
  • Merit-based recognition
  • Dynamic and consistent efforts to promote diversity as a critical component to enrich and contextualize our activities
AAHB's History

The Academy was founded April 1, 1997 to transform the health promotion and health education field from a teaching- and service-centered profession to one with a stronger research foundation in which discovery would be valued as a means of improving practice and enhancing public health. The origination of the Academy was based on the belief that the future growth and evolution of the health promotion and health education fields rested on a strong commitment to conducting and disseminating quality research.

For a history of the Academy's first 10 years, click here. 

AAHB Goals

  1. Establish financial solvency and security of The Academy to assure high quality and efficiency of the Academy.
  2. Foster development and dissemination of knowledge through sponsorship of scientific meetings, symposia, and publications.
  3. Increase member participation to improve the Academy.
  4. Recognize outstanding achievements in the areas of health behavior, health education, and health promotion research.
  5. Increase national/international influence of the Academy.
  6. Encourage collaborative research efforts. Influence health policy and allocation of resources within agencies, private foundations and universities.
  7. Foster the research career of young scholars.
  8. Create, sustain an environment that is welcoming and inclusive of diversity as reflected in membership, health behavior issues, approaches and dissemination .
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