Behavioral Counseling Research and Evidence-Based Practice Recommendations: USPSTF Perspectives

March 18, 2014 – The Annals of Internal Medicine published today a methods paper by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) titled “Behavioral Counseling Research and Evidence-Based Practice Recommendations: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Perspectives.” The paper provides the USPSTF's perspective on developing evidence-based recommendations for behavioral counseling interventions, specifically highlighting the challenges encountered by the USPSTF in synthesizing the literature. The paper frames these challenges within the context of two recent USPSTF recommendations: Counseling to Promote a Healthful Diet and Physical Activity for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention in Adults and Counseling in Primary Care to Reduce Alcohol Misuse. This paper provides an important update to the USPSTF's 2002 paper on behavioral counseling interventions in primary care. To view the paper, please go to https://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/behavioral-counseling-research-and-evidence-based-practice-recommendations-us-preventive-services-task-force-perspectives . It can also be found in the March 18 online issue of Annals of Internal Medicine.