Last updated on 24th July, 2003

Referral & Review

Social Sciences, Nursing, Epidemiology and Methods IRG [SNEM]

The Social Sciences, Nursing, Epidemiology and Methods (SNEM) IRG reviews applications for research on the broader socioenvironmental contexts in which health and health-related behavior are embedded and in which the interaction of these socioenvironmental factors with the health and health-related behavior of individuals and populations is examined. The socioenvironmental factors studied may include social class, socioeconomic conditions, cultural factors and processes, institutions, social organization, social networks, neighborhood and regional characteristics, media, policies, social and family group membership, and racial and ethnic identity. Specific areas of interest reviewed within the SNEM IRG include (but are not limited to): studies of socioenvironmental influences on health, behavior, and development; community and organizational interventions for the prevention and modification of risk behaviors; multi-level, multi-contextual studies, behavioral genetics and heritability studies; population processes, composition and distribution, their antecedents and consequences, and their inter-relationships with social, cultural, economic, behavioral, developmental and biomedical factors and processes; health services research on the antecedents and consequences of health services utilization, including multidisciplinary investigations of factors affecting access, organization, costs, quality, and the financing of health services; methodological issues, various statistical techniques, and modeling of phenomena relevant to behavioral and social science research; description, detection, etiology, prevention, treatment, and control of chronic and communicable diseases in the community; basic and applied research of responses to actual or potential health problems, especially symptom management in acute or chronic illness, approaches to promoting health and preventing disease, and interventions influencing patient health outcomes and reducing costs, nursing systems, and ethics; and occupational or work environments and their relationship to health and well-being of the workers.

The following study sections are included within the SNEM IRG:

Social Sciences, Nursing, Epidemiology and Methods 1 Study Section [SNEM-1]
Social Sciences, Nursing, Epidemiology and Methods 2 Study Section [SNEM-2]
Social Sciences, Nursing, Epidemiology and Methods 3 Study Section [SNEM-3]
Social Sciences, Nursing, Epidemiology and Methods 4 Study Section [SNEM-4
Social Sciences, Nursing, Epidemiology and Methods 5 Study Section [SNEM-5]
Epidemiology and Disease Control 1 Study Section [EDC-1]
Epidemiology and Disease Control 2 Study Section [EDC-2]
Epidemiology and Disease Control 3 Study Section [EDC-3]
Nursing Research Study Section [NURS]
SNEM Small Business Activities

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Social Sciences, Nursing, Epidemiology and Methods-1 Study Section [SNEM-1]

[SNEM-1 Roster]

The Social Sciences, Nursing, Epidemiology and Methods-1 [SNEM-1] Study Section reviews applications in the following areas: the broader socioenvironmental contexts in which health, disease, health-related behavior, and normal development are embedded; the interaction of socioenvironmental factors with individual factors with respect to these outcomes; effective macro-level interventions concerned with the prevention of a broad range of health risk behaviors across the life span. Basic studies may investigate social, cultural, and other socioenvironmental factors and processes and their inter-relationships with a broad range of outcomes, including mental and physical health, illness and disorder, risk and protective behaviors and behavior change, health beliefs and attitudes, and normal development and functioning across the lifespan. Intervention research may focus on the modification of health risk behaviors and health-related decision making through environmental change and/or the use of social, organizational, political and legal systems to reduce and prevent risk behaviors within the general or select populations. It includes community-based interventions, studies to develop and test theories or methods, and dissemination studies. Research approaches may include ethnographic and other qualitative methods; quantitative and mixed-method studies; cross-sectional, longitudinal, or cohort comparison designs; experimental and quasi-experimental designs; studies that focus on more than one period or transition of the life course; and international studies.

Specific areas covered by SNEM-1:

  • Socioenvironmental influences on health, behavior, and development, including studies with primary emphasis on socioenvironmental factors, which may include social class, socioeconomic conditions, cultural factors and processes, institutions, social organization, social networks, neighborhood and regional characteristics, media, policies, social and family group membership, and racial and ethnic identity. Examples include studies that: identify and elaborate social and cultural risk and protective influences; explore complex inter-relationships among economic, social, cultural, and environmental influences and health-related outcomes; examine the influence of laws, law enforcement, or criminal justice institutions on health-related decision-making and behavior change; study the influence of advertising, media, and health communications on health behaviors and the influence of ethnic identity and cultural norms on health risk knowledge, attitudes and behaviors.
  • Studies of the social, cultural, and socioenvironmental contexts in which health, disease, behavior and normal development are embedded. These include basic studies of social and cultural processes that are relevant to health and development, such as acculturation, diffusion, ideational change, meaning of health and illness, family structure and functioning, networks and social support, power relations, economic inequality, ethnic, racial and class identity, and social, cultural, institutional, and community change.
  • Social environment change, including prevention approaches based on policy development, change, and enforcement; legal analyses of policies and their implementation; information dissemination; health promotion; organization or reorganization in communities, schools, worksites or other relevant environment settings. These may be directed toward the general population or at-risk groups and utilize multiple social contexts of influence [e.g., schools, worksites, religious and non-sectarian organizations, community networks, media and advertising].
  • Community and organizational interventions for the prevention and modification of risk behaviors, including randomized experimental and quasi-experimental designs where the community or other multi-person entity is the unit of assignment; interventions that utilize community resources, organizations and information systems for outreach, health education or preventive service delivery; natural experiments; studies of social and organizational networks as systems for intervention delivery; and studies of organization and community characteristics and change processes underlying successful intervention implementation [e.g., community readiness or organization]
  • Studies of the adoption and dissemination of health-risk behavior preventive interventions, including studies of intervention effectiveness, variations in implementation, and/or acceptance by the target population; and studies of intervention characteristics affecting adoption, acceptance and fidelity of implementation by organizations and communities

SNEM-1 has the following shared interests within the SNEM IRG:

  • SNEM-2 also reviews applications that focus upon high-risk behavior. Applications that focus primarily upon genetic factors or that emphasize the use of epidemiological methods should be reviewed in SNEM-2.
  • SNEM-3 also reviews applications that focus upon high-risk behavior, that are multi-level, or that emphasize the relationships between socioenvironmental factors and health related behavior. Applications that emphasize determination of health status at the community level or that emphasize behavior related to family structure, human reproduction, or population mobility should be reviewed in SNEM-3. Those that emphasize community-based interventions should be reviewed in SNEM-1 unless they involve STDs or contraceptive behavior as outcome variables. These should be reviewed in SNEM-3.
  • SNEM-4 also reviews applications that explore complex inter-relationships among economic, social, cultural, and environmental influences and health and health-related outcomes. Those with an emphasis upon the delivery or organization of appropriate health services should be reviewed by SNEM-4.
  • SNEM-5 also reviews applications that attempt to establish the relationship between socioenvironmental factors and health and health-related outcomes. Applications in which the primary emphasis is upon the development of new statistical methodology or the improvement of existing research designs should be reviewed by SNEM-5.
  • NURS also reviews applications that attempt to establish the relationship between socioenvironmental factors and health and health-related outcomes. Applications in which the primary emphasis is upon nursing care and research relating to nursing interventions in patient care should be reviewed by NURS.

SNEM-1 has the following shared interests outside the SNEM IRG:

  • Studies of adult disorders that focus on socioenvironmental influences and interventions at the community level should be assigned to SNEM-1, but studies that focus on the individual level should be assigned to the BBBP-5 Study Section.
  • Studies of disorders in children and adolescents that focus on socioenvironmental influences and interventions at the community level should be assigned to SNEM-1, while studies focused on the individual level should be assigned to the BBBP-6 Study Section.
  • SNEM-1 has shared interests with the NTN Study Section. Studies of interventions to influence human nutrition patterns that emphasize a community or societal context, e.g., worksite, church, school, mass media, should be referred to SNEM-1.
  • Applications that predominately focus on adaptive or maladaptive interpersonal processes and risk behaviors in one or more settings [e.g., peer group, family, marriage] should be assigned to the RPHB-1 Study Section. Studies that focus primarily upon examination of these processes within the broader social context [e.g., neighborhood, community, policy] should be assigned to SNEM-1.
  • Studies of interventions that operate primarily through environmental or policy change should be assigned to SNEM-1. Multi-component interventions may be assigned to RPHB-1 or SNEM-1, depending on the prominence of environmental components in the overall intervention strategy.
  • Studies of interventions that primarily affect health risk behaviors by changing the knowledge, skills, and motivation of individuals should be assigned to RPHB-2. Studies of interventions that operate primarily through community-level interventions or organizations such as schools, churches, or worksites or that involve environmental or policy change should be assigned to SNEM-1.
  • Studies of interventions that primarily affect health risk behaviors by changing the knowledge, skills, and motivation of individuals with disabling physical or cognitive impairment should be assigned to RPHB-3. Studies of interventions that operate primarily through community institutions or that involve environmental or policy change should be assigned to SNEM-1.
  • Applications that focus on behavior without emphasis on macro-level influences or institutions should be reviewed by the RPHB IRG. Studies that focus on the effects of macro-level influences on personality and motivational and social cognitive processes should be reviewed by RPHB-4. Studies that focus on the effects of macro-level influences on risk behavior and studies that make use of these influences to change risk behavior should be reviewed by SNEM-1.
  • Study sections in NIAAA, NIDA and NIMH may review applications in treatment and health services research. For more information, see their web sites.

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Social Sciences, Nursing, Epidemiology and Methods-2 Study Section [SNEM-2]

[SNEM-2 Roster]

The Social Sciences, Nursing, Epidemiology and Methods 2 [SNEM-2] Study Section reviews applications for multi-level, multi-contextual studies, behavioral genetics and heritability studies, and behavioral epidemiologic studies which seek an understanding of the origins, multiple etiologies, natural histories, and consequences of a wide range of behaviors, disorders, diseases, normal functioning, and public health concerns. Applications may include qualitative and quantitative methods and may integrate multiple factors and multiple levels of analysis from the biological to social and cultural levels. Studies may use multidisciplinary perspectives and focus on interactions among individual, family, group, and community factors in either the general population or defined subpopulations with special needs such as the very young, the elderly, minority groups, and those at risk for drug and alcohol abuse and transmission of HIV, TB, HBV, and HCV. Studies may include factors which influence temporal trends, such as economic conditions and beliefs of historic cohorts, and may address the etiologies and consequences of behaviors, physical, mental, and substance abuse problems and the aging process as they vary across individuals, families, generation, age, sex, and populations with different predisposing or protective factors and co-morbid conditions.

Specific areas covered by SNEM-2:

  • Multi-level, multi-contextual studies, including studies of development, health, risk, resilience, disease, and risky behaviors embedded within the context of biological, psychological, social, environmental, and cultural factors. This includes, but is not limited to, studies of interactive effects of risk and protective factors within the individual, family, neighborhood, and environment on physical, psychiatric and/or substance use disorders, recovery, and/or sustained health. Studies may focus simultaneously on multiple levels, pathways, and causes of normal and problem behaviors. Studies may examine the cumulative impact of multiple interacting factors affecting different stages of human development, clinical course, or range of outcomes to identify factors that appear to exert influence and to examine direct and mediating factors. Studies may focus on aspects of normal development and competencies; effects of technological change on health and human functioning; precocious and delayed development as functions of biologic, environmental and experiential factors; and emerging issues.
  • Behavioral genetic studies, including studies of the heritability, familial/kinship, parental, social, and environmental influences on the phenotypic expression of genotypes. Studies include population-based or clinically-ascertained family, twin, and adoption studies that incorporate environmental risk factor identification and measurement.
  • Behavioral epidemiology, including descriptive, analytic, and genetic epidemiology in both general and specific population groups and international cross-cultural studies. Surveys, surveillance, and related behavioral and social studies are included that are informative of trends and emerging health-related problems and issues.
  • Natural catastrophes and traumatic events, including studies of individual, familial, group, and community factors and dynamics that may predispose and/or result from natural catastrophes and traumatic events affecting a population or region [e.g., fire, hurricane, terrorism, violence, and crime]. Studies may nest in-depth studies of individuals, community characteristics, expectations, trauma from prior experience, decision-making, group process, short and long term consequences and develop theoretical models of the impact of such events.

SNEM-2 has the following shared interests within the SNEM IRG:

  • SNEM-1 also reviews applications that focus upon high-risk behavior. Applications that rely primarily upon genetic factors or emphasize use of epidemiological methods should be reviewed in SNEM-2.
  • SNEM-3 also reviews applications that focus upon high-risk behavior, that are multi-level, or that emphasize the relationships between socioenvironmental factors and health-related behavior. Applications that emphasize determination of health status at the community level or that emphasize behavior related to family structure, human reproduction, or population mobility should be reviewed in SNEM-3.
  • SNEM-5 also reviews applications that focus on high-risk behavior, that are multi-level, or that emphasize the relationships between socioenvironmental factors and health-related behavior. Applications in which the primary emphasis is upon the development of new statistical methodology or the improvement of existing research designs should be reviewed by SNEM-5.
  • EDC-1 and EDC-2 also review applications that include behavioral risk factors. Applications that are primarily behavioral should be reviewed in SNEM-2, while applications that are primarily biomedical should be assigned to EDC-1 or EDC-2.
  • NURS also reviews applications that focus on high-risk behavior, that are multi-level, or that emphasize the relationships between socioenvironmental factors and health-related behavior. Applications in which the primary emphasis is upon nursing care and research relating to nursing interventions in patient care should be reviewed by NURS.

SNEM-2 has the following shared interests outside the SNEM IRG:

  • Studies of adult disorders generally should be assigned to BBBP-5. However, applications with studies nested within multi-level, multi-contextual studies focusing on the interrelationships among individual, familial [biologic, genetic and/or environmental factors], social, and cultural factors and behaviors in the etiology, natural history, and consequences of disorders and diseases should be assigned to SNEM-2.
  • Epidemiological studies of risk and protective factors should be assigned to SNEM-2. Studies of disorders in children and adolescents should be assigned to BBBP-6. Epidemiological studies of risk and protective factors should be assigned to SNEM-2.
  • Applications with studies nested within multi-level, multi-contextual studies focusing on the interrelationships among individual, familial [biologic, genetic and/or environmental factors], social, and cultural factors and behaviors in the etiology, natural history, and consequences of disorders and diseases should be assigned to SNEM-2. Epidemiological studies of risk and protective factors should be assigned to SNEM-2.
  • Applications that focus predominantly on quantitative genetics, cytogenetics, developmental genetics in nonhuman study subjects, molecular genetics, or non-Mendelian genetics should be assigned to MGN. Applications that focus upon behavioral epidemiology or behavioral genetics in human subjects should be reviewed in SNEM-2.
  • Applications that predominately focus on adaptive or maladaptive interpersonal processes and risk behaviors in one or more settings [e.g., peer group, family, marriage] should be assigned to RPHB-1. Epidemiological studies of risk and protective factors should be assigned to SNEM-2. Applications with studies nested within multi-level, multi-contextual studies focusing on the interrelationships among individual, familial [biologic, genetic and/or environmental factors], social, and cultural factors and behaviors, disorders, and diseases should be assigned to SNEM-2.
  • Studies of interventions to treat or manage physical diseases, studies closely related to intervention development, and studies of factors that influence persons to seek health care should be assigned to RPHB-2. Studies that are not closely related to interventions and that focus on the interaction of biobehavioral and socio-environmental factors with regard to the etiology, course, prevalence, and consequences of other behaviors, health disorders, and diseases should be assigned to SNEM-2.
  • Studies of interventions to treat or manage disabling physical or cognitive impairment, studies closely related to intervention development, and studies of factors that influence persons to seek health care should be assigned to RPHB-3. Studies that are not closely related to interventions and that focus on the interaction of biobehavioral and socio-environmental factors with regard to the etiology, course, prevalence, and consequences of other behaviors, health disorders, and diseases should be assigned to SNEM-2. Applications with studies nested within multi-level, multi-contextual studies involving the interrelationships among individual, familial [biologic, genetic and/or environmental factors], social, and cultural factors and behaviors, disorders, and diseases should be assigned to SNEM-2.
  • Studies of personality, motivation, social roles, and social cognitive processes should be assigned to RPHB-4. If such studies are nested within multi-level, multi-contextual studies dealing with interrelationships among individual, familial [biologic, genetic and/or environmental factors], social, and cultural factors and behaviors, disorders, and diseases, they should be assigned to SNEM-2.
  • Study Sections in NIAAA, NIDA and NIMH may review applications in treatment and health services research. For more information, see their web sites.

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Social Sciences, Nursing, Epidemiology and Methods-3 Study Section [SNEM-3]

[SNEM-3 Roster]

The Social Sciences, Nursing, Epidemiology and Methods 3 [SNEM-3] Study Section reviews applications related to population processes, composition and distribution, their antecedents and consequences, and their inter-relationships with social, cultural, economic, behavioral, developmental and biomedical factors and processes. This includes studies of migration, mortality and health, residential distribution, reproduction, sexual health, population aging, labor force and retirement, household and family structure, intergenerational relations, and biodemography in the U.S. and other countries. It also includes the development and validation of methodologies for population research, including estimation and projection, formal and mathematical demography, modeling and simulation, qualitative and ethnographic methods, and measurement, design, and statistical analysis. Studies of gender, race and ethnicity as they relate to population processes are included.

Specific areas covered by SNEM-3:

  • Migration, emigration and immigration, including movement of people within and across national boundaries; social, cultural, economic, behavioral, and health factors and processes associated with population movement; processes related to migration [e.g., acculturation, adaptation]; interstate, intercity, local migration and residential distribution; refugee movements.
  • Family and household, including living arrangements, intergenerational relations, co-residence, marriage, cohabitation, divorce, single-parent families, child care, sexual unions, roles of men, women and children within households and families, including parental and family investments in children and child well-being.
  • Population aging, including interrelationships with demographic and social processes, household and family structure, economic status and inequality, health status, intergenerational exchanges and bequests, and impacts on public programs; economics of aging
  • Fertility, including studies of conception, pregnancy, birth, and pregnancy outcomes; contraceptive use and sexual behavior; infertility; birth spacing and timing; birth intentions; value of children; interrelationships with the status and roles of women and men, health, union formation and dissolution, and other related social, cultural, economic, behavioral, and biological processes.
  • Mortality, health, functioning and disability; differentials, trends and projections for individuals, groups and populations; studies of perinatal, infants, child, adult and elderly health and mortality; interrelationships with demographic, social, economic, behavioral, and biobehavioral processes; health economics.
  • Biodemography; interrelationships of biological, genetic, evolutionary, and ecological factors with life history patterns and population processes, composition and distribution; comparison of life histories and population processes, composition and distribution between humans and other species
  • Sexual health; population-based studies of sexually-transmitted diseases, sexual risk taking and prevention behaviors, sexual networks, and sexual partnerships; studies of social, biosocial, cultural, economic, and behavioral aspects in individuals, groups and society
  • Employment, labor force and retirement; social, cultural, economic and behavioral antecedents and consequences for working-age and dependent men and women, groups and society; studies of interrelationships with health, migration, family and household structure, disability, functioning, social and economic status, impact of public and private programs such as social security on labor force transitions and income security of the elderly
  • Population size, composition, and structure; race and ethnic composition; population composition by age, sex, nativity, and other demographic characteristics.
  • Population and the environment; interrelationships between population processes and the physical environment.

SNEM-3 has the following shared interests within the SNEM IRG:

  • SNEM-1 also reviews applications that focus upon high-risk behavior, that are multi-level, or that emphasize the relationships between socioenvironmental factors and health related behavior. Applications that emphasize determination of health status at the community level or that emphasize behavior related to family structure, human reproduction, or population mobility should be reviewed in SNEM-3. Those that emphasize community-based interventions should be reviewed in SNEM-1 unless they involve STDs or contraceptive behavior as outcome variables. The latter should be reviewed in SNEM-3.
  • SNEM-4 also reviews applications containing health economics. Applications in which the primary emphasis is upon the organization or delivery of health-related services should be reviewed by SNEM-4.
  • SNEM-5 also reviews applications that focus on population processes and their inter-relationships with socioenvironmental and biomedical factors and processes. Applications in which the primary emphasis is the development of new statistical methodology or the improvement of existing research designs should be reviewed by SNEM-5.
  • EDC-1 also reviews applications dealing with reproductive diseases, pregnancy, fertility, birth weight, and child growth and development. Applications that rely primarily upon epidemiologic methods or that are intended primarily to estimate the incidence or prevalence of one or more of these should be reviewed by EDC-1. Applications that examine one of more of these conditions in terms of socioenvironmental factors should be reviewed by SNEM-3.
  • EDC-2 also reviews applications dealing with the incidence and prevalence of morbidity and mortality related to cancer, infectious diseases, environmental and occupational risk factors, pulmonary diseases, sleep disorders, and neurological disorders. Applications that rely primarily upon epidemiologic methods should be reviewed by EDC-2. Applications relating levels of morbidity and mortality to socioenvironmental factors or the effects of public policy on morbidity or mortality levels should be reviewed by SNEM-3.
  • NURS also reviews applications that focus on population processes and their inter-relationships with socioenvironmental and biomedical factors and processes. Applications in which the primary emphasis is upon nursing care and research relating to nursing interventions in patient care should be reviewed by NURS.

SNEM-3 has the following shared interests outside the SNEM IRG:

  • SNEM-3 has shared interests with the BBBP IRG. Biobehavioral and behavioral applications that emphasize issues related to population processes and biodemography should be reviewed by SNEM-3.
  • Applications that focus on population genetics should be reviewed in MGN.
  • Studies of marital and family interactions, processes, and social development that exclude an emphasis on demographic processes should be reviewed by RPHB-1. SNEM-3 should review demographic and economic studies of marriage and family behavior, including those that consider child health and well-being outcomes.

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Social Sciences, Nursing, Epidemiology and Methods-1 Study Section [SNEM-4]

[SNEM-4 Roster]

The Social Sciences, Nursing, Epidemiology and Methods 4 [SNEM-4] Study Section reviews health services research studies that include multidisciplinary investigations of the predictors, processes and outcomes of health services, including availability, access and acceptability; organization; decision-making; delivery, utilization and quality of care; and costs, cost-effectiveness and financing of health care. Health services include inpatient, ambulatory, sub-acute, acute, community-based, rehabilitative and long-term care.

Specific areas covered by SNEM-4:

  • Community, personnel, economic, technological, and management resources and support, including studies of community resources, including supply and area market behaviors; health care provider characteristics; health insurance, reimbursement, and financing mechanisms; care management technology and assessment; delivery system characteristics.
  • Health needs and health services utilization; studies of severity of illness; comorbidity; case mix and risk adjustment; psychosocial and economic antecedents; health care access; health services utilization and patterns.
  • Healthcare organizations, programs, and delivery of services; studies of managed care organizations; integrated care delivery systems; disease management and modeling; continuous quality improvement; characteristics of the organization and patient outcomes; organizational performance and efficiency; cost-benefit analysis.
  • Healthcare quality, effectiveness, outcomes; studies of application and evaluation of practice guidelines; quality of health care; patient and provider satisfaction; health status and outcomes assessment; evidence-based practice; health-related quality of life.
  • Voluntary health and social service organizations and programs; studies of voluntary organizational programs for health advocacy, prevention and social support services; evaluation of public-private collaborative and inter-organizational network services delivery; intersection of formal and informal care provision.

SNEM-4 has the following shared interests within the SNEM IRG:

  • SNEM-1 also reviews applications that explore complex inter-relationships among economic, social, cultural, and environmental influences and health and health-related outcomes. Applications that emphasize the delivery or organization of appropriate health services should be reviewed by SNEM-4.
  • SNEM-3 also reviews applications containing health economics. Applications in which the primary emphasis is upon the organization or delivery of health-related services should be reviewed by SNEM-4.
  • SNEM-5 also reviews applications that focus on the organization and delivery of health-related services. Applications in which the primary emphasis is upon the development of new statistical methodology or the improvement of existing research designs should be reviewed by SNEM-5.
  • NURS reviews applications that emphasize nursing care and research relating to nursing interventions in patient care. Studies that primarily address the organization of health care delivery of the utilization of a health care delivery system, including that by medical personnel, should be reviewed by SNEM-4.

SNEM-4 has the following shared interests outside the SNEM IRG:

  • SNEM-4 has shared interests with the BBBP IRG. Studies of behavioral disorders that focus on the utilization of intervention services, their costs, and delivery should be assigned to SNEM-4.
  • Prevention research applications that focus on intra-/inter-personal processes within a health care setting should be assigned to the RPHB IRG. Studies without a preventive focus but that emphasize the utilization of intervention services, their costs, and delivery should be assigned to SNEM-4.
  • All study sections in AHRQ [Agency for Health Care Research and Quality] review applications in health services research, as does SNEM-4. When the primary program assignment is AHRQ, the application should be reviewed in an AHRQ Study Section. When the primary program assignment is an NIH Institute or Center, the application should be reviewed in SNEM-4.
  • Study Sections in NIAAA, NIDA and NIMH may review applications in treatment and health services research. For more information, see their web sites.

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Social Sciences, Nursing, Epidemiology and Methods-5 Study Section [SNEM-5]

[SNEM-5 Roster]

The Social Sciences, Nursing, Epidemiology and Methods [SNEM-5] Study Section reviews applications that focus primarily upon advancing techniques and technologies that address important statistical and mathematical problems, research design and methodological issues, and the modeling of phenomena relevant to biomedical, behavioral and scientific research. SNEM-5 reviews generic methodological research that can improve the validity, reliability, or precision of measures; the development of statistical theory and mathematical models to analyze data, clinical trial intervention studies, and non-behavioral basic science; statistical research targeted at data structures developed in clinical trials; advanced ways of using computers and/or new testing technology, or computational modeling techniques with existing data sets; or applying techniques from other disciplines [e.g., genetics, neurology, computer science] to behavioral and social science topics, as well as other biomedical areas of research. The emphasis and main focus of applications should be upon the methods, statistics, or modeling techniques.

Specific areas covered by SNEM-5:

  • Data collection, including processes associated with self-reports; validity, reliability, precision of measurements; self-disclosure of stigmatized and illegal behaviors or rare phenomena; computer-assisted interviews and data collection; biomedical or biobehavioral measures, testing, and evaluations; physiological measures of behavioral phenomena [e.g., fatigue]; and techniques for incorporating the collection of biological specimens in behavioral and social science as well as other areas of biomedical research.
  • Research design, including sample selection, completion, and bias estimation; research designs for complex interdisciplinary studies; novel clinical trials design, multiple sub-studies within clinical trials and cohort/longitudinal design; integration of qualitative, quantitative, clinical, and historical data collection.
  • Advanced statistical issues, including development of theory and models that might include new approaches in Bayesian methodology; regression artifacts; application of smoothing distributions; heteroskedasticity; statistical problems; statistical and methodological issues in clinical trials; medical signals, images, and statistical analyses.
  • Analytic methods and modeling, including theoretical and methodological issues in meta analysis; modeling measurement error; generalized linear models; statistical issues for large data sets for missing observations or non-response; statistical models of the progression, transmission, and spread of diseases and conditions; demographic modeling; modeling of social networks and family tree and kin networks; connectionist/neural network models of social, psychological and biobehavioral processes; event history analysis; computer simulation; mathematical modeling; graphic information systems; and analytic methods and modeling of qualitative data. Software development.

SNEM-5 has the following shared interests within the SNEM IRG:

  • SNEM-5 reviews applications that emphasize the development of new statistical methods or the improvement of research design, and these applications may involve any of the variables included in the other Study Sections within the SNEM IRG.

SNEM-5 has the following shared interests outside the SNEM IRG:

  • SNEM-5 reviews applications that emphasize the development of new statistical methods or the improvement of research design, and these applications may involve many of the variables included in other Study Sections outside the SNEM IRG.
  • Study Sections in NIAAA, NIDA and NIMH may review applications in treatment and health services research. For more information, see their web sites.
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Epidemiology and Disease Control-1 Study Section [EDC-1]

[EDC-1 Roster]

The Epidemiology and Disease Control-1 (EDC-1) Study Section reviews applications for descriptive and analytic epidemiologic research in cardiovascular disease, reproductive or perinatal diseases or conditions (including birth weight, child growth, and menopause), musculoskeletal diseases or conditions (except among the elderly) arthritis, lupus and rheumatoid diseases (except among the elderly) diabetes, digestive disease and kidney disease, and obesity, physical activity and nutritional behavior and conditions.

Specific areas covered by EDC-1:

  • The general characteristics of the distribution of the diseases/conditions cited above (including incidence, prevalence, morbidity and mortality) in relation to time, place, and personal characteristics.
  • Elucidation of the determinants of the diseases/conditions cited above by assembling groups of individuals to determine systematically whether the risk of disease/condition is different for individuals who are exposed or not exposed to specific factors (or combinations of factors) of interest. These factors may be either risk factors or protective factors.
  • Intervention studies pertaining to the diseases/conditions cited above.
  • Development and improvement of research designs and methodologies addressing epidemiologic questions in the diseases/conditions cited above

EDC-1 has the following shared interests within the SNEM IRG:

  • Epidemiologic applications that emphasize the incidence, prevalence, morbidity or mortality of the diseases/conditions cited above should be reviewed by EDC-1. Applications that emphasize the prevalence, incidence, morbidity or mortality related to other diseases should be reviewed by EDC-2 or EDC-3, depending upon which diseases/conditions are involved.
  • SNEM-1 also reviews applications that include interventions. If the primary focus of the proposed study is one of the diseases/conditions cited above and if the application emphasizes community or societal institutions such as school, church, work site, or mass media, the application should be reviewed by SNEM-1.
  • Applications that are primarily behavioral should be reviewed in SNEM-2. Applications that are primarily biomedical should be assigned to EDC-1, EDC-2 or EDC-3, depending upon the disease/condition being studied.
  • SNEM-3 also reviews applications dealing with reproductive diseases, pregnancy, and fertility (including birth weight), and child growth and development. Applications that rely primarily upon epidemiologic methods or are intended primarily to estimate the incidence or prevalence of one or more of these should be reviewed by EDC-1. Applications that examine one of more of these conditions in terms of socioenvironmental factors should be reviewed by SNEM-3.
  • SNEM-5 also reviews applications dealing with epidemiologic methods and research design. When the primary emphasis of the application is upon the development of new methods or research design, the application should be reviewed in SNEM-5.
  • Applications that are not submitted to NIOSH but that study the working environment as part of a larger epidemiological study should be reviewed by EDC-1, EDC-2 or EDC-3, depending upon the disease/condition being studied.

EDC-1 has the following shared interests outside the SNEM IRG:

  • EDC-1 has shared interests with the IDM IRG regarding infectious diseases. Studies that have substantial laboratory components are appropriate for EDC-1, EDC-2 or EDC-3 (depending upon the disease/condition being studied) when the primary thrust is epidemiologic and laboratory data are to be collected by methods that are largely already developed. With the exception of applications emphasizing vaccine development, large-scale (but not small scale) clinical trials are appropriate for EDC-1, EDC-2 or EDC-3. When epidemiology is a minor component or when the epidemiology focuses on the non-human disease vector or the genetic identity of the disease subspecies, applications should be assigned to the appropriate study section of the IDM IRG.
  • The RPHB IRG reviews applications dealing with variations in risk behavior. Studies with a behavioral intervention component to change health behavior are more appropriately referred to RPHB or SNEM, depending upon whether the emphasis is upon the individual or the community level context.
  • BBBP reviews applications dealing with cognitive development in humans
  • CCVS reviews small clinical trials in the cardiovascular sciences, hematology and drug metabolism. Applications involving large clinical trials should be assigned to EDC-1.
  • The level of molecular and genetic technology relative to epidemiology needs to be considered before assigning to EDC-1; more technical applications should be reviewed by MGN.
  • When nutritional evaluation or practices are part of an overall epidemiological study, EDC-1 would be more appropriate than NTN.
  • The VACC Study Section, located in the AARR IRG, reviews applications whose emphasis is upon vaccine development, even when those involve large clinical trials.

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Epidemiology and Disease Control-2 Study Section [EDC-2]

[EDC-2 Roster]

The Epidemiology and Disease Control 2 (EDC-2) Study Section reviews applications for descriptive and analytic epidemiologic studies in the areas of cancer and environmental risk factors.

Specific areas covered by EDC-2:

  • General characteristics of the distribution of the diseases/conditions cited above (including incidence, prevalence, morbidity and mortality) in relation to time, place, and personal characteristics.
  • Elucidation of the determinants of the diseases/conditions cited above by assembling groups of individuals to determine systematically whether the risk of disease/condition is different for individuals who are exposed or not exposed to specific factors (or combinations of factors) of interest. These factors may be either risk factors or protective factors.
  • Intervention studies pertaining to the diseases/conditions cited above.
  • Development and improvement of research designs and methodologies addressing epidemiologic questions in the diseases/conditions cited above

EDC-2 has the following shared interests within the SNEM IRG:

  • Epidemiologic applications the incidence, prevalence, morbidity or mortality of cancer and its environmental and risk factors should be reviewed by EDC-2. Applications that emphasize the prevalence, incidence, morbidity or mortality related to other diseases should be reviewed by EDC-1 or EDC-3, depending upon which diseases/conditions are involved.
  • SNEM-1 also reviews applications that include interventions. If the primary focus of the proposed study is on cancer and environmental and risk factors and if the application emphasizes community or societal institutions such as school, church, work site, or mass media, the application should be reviewed by SNEM-1.
  • SNEM-2 also reviews applications that include risk factors that are behavioral. Applications that are primarily behavioral should be reviewed in SNEM-2. Applications that are primarily biomedical should be assigned to EDC-1, EDC-2 or EDC-3, depending upon the disease/condition being studied.
  • SNEM-3 also reviews applications dealing with the incidence and prevalence of morbidity and mortality. Applications related to cancer or environmental and occupational risk factors and those that rely primarily upon epidemiologic methods should be reviewed by EDC-2. Applications relating levels of morbidity and mortality to socioenvironmental factors or the effects of public policy on morbidity or mortality levels should be reviewed by SNEM-3.
  • SNEM-5 also reviews applications involving development and improvement of research designs and methodologies. If the primary thrust of the application is to develop or improve research design or methodology, the application should be reviewed by SNEM-5.
  • Applications not submitted to NIOSH that study the working environment is part of a larger epidemiological study should be reviewed by EDC-1, EDC-2 or EDC-3, depending upon the disease/condition being studied.

EDC-2 has the following shared interests outside the SNEM IRG:

  • Study sections of the IDM IRG also review applications on infectious diseases. Studies with substantial laboratory components are appropriate for EDC-1, EDC-2 or EDC-3 (depending upon the disease/condition being studied) when the primary thrust is epidemiologic and laboratory data are to be collected by methods that are largely already developed. With the exception of applications emphasizing vaccine development, large-scale (but not small-scale) clinical trials are appropriate for EDC-1, EDC-2 or EDC-3. When epidemiology is a minor component or when the epidemiology focuses on the non-human disease vector or the genetic identity of the disease subspecies, applications should be assigned to the appropriate IDM IRG.
  • The level of molecular and genetic technology relative to epidemiology needs to be considered before assigning applications in genetic epidemiology to EDC-2. More technical applications should be reviewed by MGN.
  • NTN is more appropriate than EDC-2 when nutritional evaluation or practices are part of an overall epidemiological study.
  • The RPHB IRG reviews applications dealing with variations in risk behavior. Studies with a behavioral intervention component to change health behavior may be assigned to RPHB or SNEM depending upon whether the emphasis is on the individual or the community level.
  • VACC, located in the AARR IRG, reviews applications whose emphasis is upon vaccine development, even when those involve large clinical trials.

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Epidemiology and Disease Control-3 Study Section [EDC-3]

The Epidemiology and Disease Control-3 (EDC-3) Study Section reviews applications for descriptive and analytic epidemiologic studies in specific disease areas that include infectious diseases, pulmonary diseases, sleep disorders, neurologic disorders (including the epidemiology of Alzheimer's Disease, dementias, stroke, Parkinson's Disease, and epilepsy), and epidemiology of disorders of aging (including musculoskeletal disorders such as osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, falls and fractures, functional status, frailty, quality of life, health care use, and other areas as they relate to populations of older persons).

Specific areas covered by EDC-3:

  • The general characteristics of the distribution of the diseases/conditions cited above (including incidence, prevalence, morbidity and mortality) in relation to time, place, and personal characteristics
  • Elucidation of the determinants of the diseases/conditions cited above by assembling groups of individuals to determine systematically whether the risk of disease/condition is different for individuals who are exposed or not exposed to specific factors (or combinations of factors) of interest. These factors may be either risk factors or protective factors.
  • Intervention studies pertaining to the diseases/conditions cited above
  • Development and improvement of research designs and methodologies addressing epidemiologic questions in the diseases/conditions cited above

EDC-3 has the following shared interests within the SNEM IRG:

  • Epidemiologic applications that emphasize the incidence, prevalence, morbidity or mortality of the diseases/conditions cited above should be reviewed by EDC-3. Applications that emphasize the prevalence, incidence, morbidity or mortality related to other diseases should be reviewed by EDC-1 or EDC-2, depending upon which diseases/conditions are involved.
  • SNEM-1 also reviews applications that include interventions. If the primary focus of the proposed study is on one of the diseases/conditions cited above but if the application emphasizes community or societal institutions such as school, church, work site, or mass media, the application should be reviewed by SNEM-1.
  • Applications that include risk factors that are primarily behavioral should be reviewed in SNEM-2. Applications involving risk factors that are primarily biomedical should be assigned to EDC-1, EDC-2 or EDC-3, depending upon the disease/condition being studied.
  • SNEM-5 also reviews applications dealing with epidemiologic methods and research design. When the application's primary emphasis is upon the development of new methods or research design, the application should be reviewed in SNEM-5.
  • Applications that are not submitted to NIOSH and that study the working environment as part of a larger epidemiological study should be reviewed by EDC-1, EDC-2 or EDC-3, depending upon the disease/condition being studied.

EDC-3 has the following shared interests outside the SNEM IRG:

  • The IDM IRG also reviews applications regarding infectious diseases. Studies that have substantial laboratory components are appropriate for EDC-1, EDC-2 or EDC-3 (depending upon the disease/condition being studied) when the primary thrust is epidemiologic and laboratory data are to be collected by methods that are largely already developed. With the exception of applications emphasizing vaccine development, large-scale (but not small-scale) clinical trials are appropriate for EDC-1, EDC-2 or EDC-3. When epidemiology is a minor component or when the epidemiology focuses on the non-human disease vector or the genetic identity of the disease subspecies, the application should be assigned to the appropriate Study Section in the IDM IRG.
  • The NMS IRG also reviews applications that address nutritional issues. Applications that involve basic and clinical aspects of metabolic, nutritional and gastroenteric processes at the organism, tissue, or cellular level are reviewed in the NMS IRG. Applications related to the diseases/disorders cited above that involve a nutritional (or food consumption) component that will be evaluated as a potential confounding factor but that is not the focus of the application may be reviewed in EDC-3. When epidemiology is a minor component or when the epidemiology focuses on the non-human disease vector or the genetic identity of the disease subspecies, the application should be assigned to the appropriate study section within the NMS IRG.
  • EDC-3 has extensive shared interests with MGN for applications involving genetic epidemiology. The level of genetic technology to epidemiology needs to be considered in assignment decisions between these two study sections. EDC-3 is more appropriate when genetic factors are to be considered in conjunction with other environmental risk factors. MGN is more appropriate when cytogenetic studies are a prominent feature.
  • RPHB-1 or SNEM-1 should be considered for studies with a behavioral intervention component to change health behavior. The choice between the study sections will depend on whether the emphasis is upon the individual or the community level.
  • The VACC Study Section, located in the AARR IRG, reviews applications that emphasize vaccine development, even when large clinical trials are involved.

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Nursing Research Study Section [NURS]

[NURS Roster]

The Nursing Research [NURS] Study section generally reviews applications that originate from a school or college of nursing.

Specific areas covered by NURS:

  • Management of patients with acute and chronic illnesses; issues such as symptom management, decision-making, self-care behaviors, prevention of disability, quality of life, adherence, nurse-client communications, and caregiver issues. Symptoms might include pain, sleep, grieving, hopelessness, altered self esteem, social isolation, anger, anxiety, stress, fatigue, confusion, and nausea and vomiting.
  • Health promotion and disease prevention for individuals and families; normal growth and development, maturational processes, and lifestyle behavior changes. Examples include stress adaptation, coping training, social support; lifespan issues such as parenting, family caregiving, pregnancy, infant and child health, women's health, aging, bereavement, and end of life; and promoting lifestyle behaviors as diet, exercise, and smoking cessation.
  • Other nursing practice issues, including those dealing with vulnerable populations, cultural and ethnic variations in care, health practices for families and communities, and ethical decision-making issues
  • Studies related to the practice environment in which nursing care is delivered, including patient outcomes of home care, long-term care, hospital care, and community health care, factors underlying the quality of nursing care, and cost-effectiveness and informatics issues of nursing care as they relate to patient outcomes

NURS has the following shared interests within the SNEM IRG:

  • Applications that originate from a school or college of nursing generally should be referred to NURS. Applications originating from other sources and that fall within the domain of subject areas covered by the SNEM IRG should be referred to the most appropriate study section within the SNEM IRG.

NURS has the following shared interests outside the SNEM IRG:

  • Applications that originate from a school or college of nursing generally should be referred to NURS. Applications originating from other sources and that do not fall within the domain of subject areas covered by the SNEM IRG should be referred to the most appropriate IRG.
  • Study Sections in NIAAA, NIDA, and NIMH may review applications in treatment and health services research. For more information, see their web sites.

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Small Business Activities of the SNEM IRG

SBIR/STTR Scientific Review Administrators

Small Business Activities of the SNEM IRG SBIR/STTR applications seeking to understand and elaborate the broader socioenvironmental contexts in which health and health-related behavior are embedded and to examine the interaction of these socioenvironmental factors with the health and health-related behavior of individuals and populations are reviewed within dedicated scientific review groups within the SNEM IRG. The socioenvironmental factors studied may include social class, socioeconomic conditions, cultural factors and processes, institutions, social organization, social networks, neighborhood and regional characteristics, media, policies, social and family group membership, and racial and ethnic identity.

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[Referral & Review]