What is tailoring? How does it differ from segmentation? Why tailor? On what variables do we tailor? Dr. Strecher will present an introduction to tailored health behavioral change interventions. He will also highlight the research findings of recent commercial tailored programs in three distinct health smoking cessation, medication adherence, and weight management.

<a href="http://chcr.umich.edu/who_we_are/people/person.2005-04-13.8535067001/person_view"><b>Vic Strecher</b></a>, is Director of the University of Michigan Center for
Health Communications Research (CHCR), a National Cancer Institute
Center of Excellence. He is also Director of Cancer Prevention and
Control at the University of Michigan's Comprehensive Cancer Center and
Professor in the Schools of Public Health and Medicine. Dr. Strecher is
an internationally known expert in tailored communication research
through his past and current research in the area. Together with his
Health Communications Research Laboratory at University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill and his current activities at the University of
Michigan, Dr. Strecher has nearly fifteen years of experience working
with multidisciplinary teams to conduct research studies and
demonstration projects of tailored health communications interventions.<br>

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Dr. Strecher's academic interests include evaluative research of health
behavior change interventions for health promotion, disease prevention
and disease management; he has been principal investigator on over $25
million in research grants. Grant-funded studies have included, among
others, several computer-tailored web interventions, including smoking
cessation and prevention in adults and asthma management in urban
teens. Tailored print interventions include materials for cigarette
smoking cessation, mammography, and dietary fat reduction; tailored
alcohol-related injury prevention materials for patients in the
emergency room; and tailored materials to HMO members based on a
comprehensive health risk appraisal. Computer-based interactive
multimedia interventions include a program for genetic counseling on
BRCA1 and BRCA2 (breast cancer genes), smoking cessation and
prevention, physical activity, colorectal screening, mammography,
prostate cancer screening, bicycle helmet safety, oral health,
Alzheimer's Disease awareness, heart attack alert, cardiovascular
disease prevention, childhood immunization, cancer risk prevention,
nutrition, teen alcohol use prevention, sexually-transmitted diseases
prevention.<br>

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In June of 2003, Dr. Strecher received a five-year $10 million grant
from the National Cancer Institute to create a Center for Health
Communications Research. This Center systematically explores the
"active ingredients" of effective tailored health communication,
developing statistical models for optimizing the impact of
individually-tailored communications. The results of this research are
forming a new understanding of health communications for interactive
media, including the Internet, digitally tailored print, personal
digital assistants (PDA), and interactive television.<a href="http://chcr.umich.edu/who_we_are/people/person.2005-04-13.8535067001/person_view"></a><br>