FROM THE EDITOR
Ellen Engelhardt, PhD
Editor
Aisha Langford, PhD
Deputy Editor
by Ellen Engelhardt, PhD; SMDM e-newsletter Editor

It’s a great pleasure to be taking over as Editor of the SMDM Newsletter. Starting with this newsletter, Aisha Langford is joining the editorial team as Deputy Editor. Welcome Aisha! We are both very excited to be able to make a small, but we hope meaningful, contribution. Before I go any further, I want to thank Brian Zikmund-Fisher for his service as the Newsletter editor. Brian started important conversations with SMDM members through the MDM polls he introduced. Aisha and I look forward to keep this conversation going and building on this tradition.

Eagled-eyed readers will have spotted that we have changed how we classify the Newsletter editions. Up to now we used the seasons in the Northern Hemisphere, but SMDM is a global society. Our colleagues in the Southern Hemisphere undoubtedly feel welcome and included, but this small change will reaffirm the inclusiveness of our society.

The SMDM newsletter, at least in my view, provides more than just communications, it can be a source for new ideas and provoke discussions among the MDM community. To spark some discussion, we are introducing the Hot Topics in MDM column. In this column we will discuss interesting new studies or highlight ongoing debates in the MDM literature or on social media. We want to know your take on the Hot Topic, so we will be linking the Hot Topics to an MDM Poll. In the next issue we will report back.

For our first Hot Topics in MDM column, Aisha zooms in on misinformation about COVID-19. The pervasiveness of misinformation about the pandemic and the serious risk that poses to global health, has prompted the World Health Organization to declare an "infodemic" (an over-abundance of information – some accurate and some not – that makes it hard for people to find trustworthy sources and reliable guidance when they need it). Aisha invites us to reflect on whether we have a fiduciary duty to be ‘first responders’ to COVID-19 misinformation. Let us know what you think! Please take a couple of minutes to complete the Poll.

Sadly, at the end of May, David Rovner passed away. David and his wife Margaret Holmes-Rovner (SMDM past president) contributed greatly to SMDM. In this newsletter, we have included a tribute to David. He will be greatly missed. Our deepest sympathies go out to his loved ones.

In this issue, we also have the following interesting and thought-provoking columns:

  • Lisa Prosser, SMDM president, reflects on next steps we can take as a society and as individuals to reduce racism and enhance diversity.
  • Ashley Leech, on behalf of the Teaching MDM Interest Group, wants to get insights into whether a new shared teaching platform would be of added value to SMDM members. Please take a 1-2 minutes to let her know.
  • Sarah Munro, talks about doing knowledge translation and implementation science in a pandemic.
  • Eline Krijkamp, Ruth Ndjaboue, Rachel Pozzar and Kyu Eun Lee, our SMDM fellows, talk about their strategies to remain productive despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Lastly, I report the results of the Spring poll on the use of gender-inclusive language in MDM research. Interesting and thought-provoking findings, definitely worth a read.

Diane Nickolson, recently started as SMDM’s New Executive Director. In this issue she introduces herself. Welcome Diane!

Many thanks to all contributors for their great contributions! Finally, I would like to invite you to consider writing a piece for our next Newsletter. We would love to hear what’s going on in your MDM corner of the world. Please contact me ( e.engelhardt@nki.nl ) or Aisha ( Aisha.Langford@nyulangone.org ) , if you’d like to discuss your Commentary idea.
FROM THE PRESIDENT
Lisa Prosser, PhD
SMDM President's Column
by Lisa Prosser, PhD; University of Michigan

SMDM recently issued a statement against racism, with a specific call to action – what can we do in our corner of the world?  

In this column today, I’d like to share some initial thoughts about moving forward. I very much look forward to your input as we work together as an SMDM community to consider specific strategies and implement initiatives that relate to our MDM corner of the world. We all have chances to make change both within the institutions where we work and in our research to reduce racism and enhance diversity. As a board, we will look internally at practices within the society that merit change, and as a society, we can develop teaching and research resources for the field of medical decision making.

Many SMDM members have already come forward with valuable suggestions as well as commitment and energy to move these forward. Among these are:

  • assembling a set of anti-racism resources and making these available on our webpage;
  • creating a diversity and inclusion committee;
  • considering opportunities to focus our SMDM fellowships on disparities, equity, and inclusion;
  • providing resources to integrate teaching and discussion on racism, disparities, and health equity into our MDM teaching; and
  • delivering “upstander” training at our upcoming virtual meeting.

Within our own institutions, we can work to implement evidence-based strategies to address systemic bias in academia. An excellent resource for research-based strategies is a recent book by Abigail Stewart and Virginia Valian, An Inclusive Academy: Achieving Diversity and Excellence. Specific examples include the development of sponsorship programs and peer support networks, which have been shown to support underrepresented minority faculty and students and help to strengthen a diverse pipeline.

In the research context, one new opportunity relates to a core area of research within MDM, cost-effectiveness analysis. For many years, the field of cost-effectiveness has relegated equity considerations to the discussion section of the analysis, but recently a new set of related methods introduces approaches for incorporating equity concerns directly into the analysis. Distributional cost-effectiveness analysis (DCEA - which includes extended CEA, equity-adjusted CEA, and related methods) provides a framework for directly incorporating health inequality concerns into the evaluation. One of the first papers on this topic was published in Medical Decision Making ( Asaria, Griffin, & Cookson; 2016 ) , and a new textbook on DCEA will be published this coming September 2020.

These are just some initial thoughts as we start the longer-term work against racism and working to address systemic barriers. I feel lucky to be a part of our SMDM community and look forward to working together with open dialogue and active strategies to make effective change in our corner of the world. In closing, I’d like to share a reflection that resonated with me deeply, from the University of Michigan’s Vice Provost for Equity & Inclusion, Dr. Robert Sellers ( https://odei.umich.edu/2020/05/29/i-am-so-tired/).
IN MEMORIAM
David Rovner, MD
In Remembrance of David Rovner
At the end of May the sad news reached us that David Rovner had died peacefully on May 22, 2020, at his home. His loving wife, Margaret Holmes-Rovner (SMDM past president) and family were at his side.

David was a distinguished Professor, Physician, and Researcher. He received his medical degree from Temple University and completed residency at the University of Michigan, where he spent several years, and ultimately became a full Professor. He then moved to the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, where he founded the Division of Endocrinology, and spent 46 years teaching, researching, and providing patient care.

David was a founding member of the Society for Medical Decision Making and worked to establish the field of doctor-patient shared decision-making. Many SMDM colleagues remember fondly how welcoming he and his wife Margaret were to them at SMDM meetings, and how generous they were, taking the time to talk to young researchers at impromptu coffee meetings.

He will be sorely missed by all who were fortunate enough to know him. May his memory be a blessing to his loved ones.
COMMENTARY
The opinions stated in the following commentaries are solely those of the authors and do not reflect the opinions of the Society for Medical Decision Making or the author's institution.
Ashley Leech, PhD
Teaching MDM: Are you sharing yet?
by Ashley Leech, PhD
2020 has challenged traditional teaching methods, necessitating a greater need to deliver more engaging teaching strategies and capitalize on best practices across the field. While the Teaching MDM Interest Group did not have COVID-19 in mind when we met at the 2019 Annual North American SMDM meeting in Portland, Oregon, our focused discussion on a shared repository for MDM teaching resources is even more relevant today.

Since the continued growth of decision science hinges on training new students, a central teaching repository could foster greater collaboration across MDM members and enable the exchange of up-to-date methods, theory, and practice. This platform could also enable the exchange of distanced-learning materials, including tips to tackle key MDM concepts in an online format. Having an easily accessible platform could further avoid unnecessary duplicated efforts. Appreciating different teaching needs across members, buy-in across decision science scholars (i.e. clinicians, modelers, theorists, etc.) is important. While in the past, members used the now largely dormant SMDM Connect for this purpose, a more accessible platform could revive this idea (i.e. Google Drive, DropBox, etc.).

Therefore, we have created a short survey (it will take less than 2 minutes to complete!) to gauge members’ current teaching needs, whether a new shared teaching drive would be beneficial for members, and to elicit preferences on the type of platform.

We look forward to continuing this conversation virtually and at the next in-person SMDM meeting in the future!
Aisha Langford, PhD
Deputy Editor
Hot Topics: Do SMDM members have a fiduciary duty to be ‘first responders’ to COVID-19 misinformation?
On May 21, 2020, the United Nations announced a new initiative to fight misinformation through ‘digital first responders’. This effort is aimed to “push back against the tide of lies and hate that has risen in tandem with the COVID-19 pandemic, by empowering people worldwide to share accurate information to help save lives and promote global solidarity.”

Misinformation about health issues was a problem long before COVID-19 arrived. However, the global pandemic has shined a bright light on the importance of getting timely, accurate, and understandable health information to the public. For example, many of you have seen those, “ My aunt’s friend" who does not have a name or an affiliation, but knows everything about COVID-19 said. . .” texts and Facebook posts. Articles about COVID-19 misinformation have appeared in JAMA, Nature, and countless other places.

While good crisis and emergency risk communication have always been important, communicating about COVID-19 has been particularly challenging. These challenges are partly due to conflicting messages from politicians and health professionals. Differing opinions about who to listen to and which organizations to trust also play a role. Moreover, some individuals may weigh personal freedoms and concerns about the economy over the societal benefits that may result from social distancing, wearing masks, and temporarily closing non-essential businesses.
I recently watched a video interview with Dr. Linda Rae Murray, MD, MPH as part of the JAMA Network COVID-19 Update series. One of her quotes caught my attention: “Communities without information, without accurate information, will invent explanations for what's going on.” In a different video interview in the same series, Carlos del Rio, MD said, “Crisis communication is so hard because you're kind of building the boat as you're sailing.”

That said, I have 3 questions for you:

  1. When, if ever, do you personally try to combat COVID-19 misinformation?
  2. How, if at all, should SMDM help to combat COVID-19 misinformation?
  3. Who should take responsibility for ensuring that high-quality health information is reaching the public?
Not Pictured: Sarah Munro , PhD
Doing Knowledge Translation and Implementation Science in a Pandemic
by Sarah Munro , co-lead for the Implementation Science and Knowledge Translation Interest Group
 
Evidence-based interventions to contain the COVID-19 pandemic – hand washing, physical distancing, mask wearing, test and trace – have had uneven uptake and success across international settings. Why do certain interventions work in some contexts and not others? Differences in uptake have depended on a range of factors, including the context of the outbreak, strength and speed of government response, and local factors related to where, when, and why individuals choose to change their behaviour.

Knowledge translation and implementation science can illuminate how interventions work, identify what strategies can be used to accelerate their impact on the spread of COVID-19, and translate that knowledge for the public, providers, and policy makers. There is potential for the medical decision-making community to contribute evidence on what interventions work, in what contexts, and why during COVID-19 and in a post-pandemic world.

This could potentially involve investigating the factors that influence ‘real-world’ application of decision analysis for disaster planning, or implementation strategies from behavioural economics that encourage uptake of evidence-based interventions to prevent the spread of virus. It could include evaluating dissemination and exchange of risk (mis)information about COVID-19. Researchers can also build on existing evidence-based frameworks to rapidly adapt knowledge translation tools, like patient decision aids, for choices that have become increasingly complex due to pandemic conditions.

It is also critical to acknowledge how the Black Lives Matter movement has drawn attention to the intersecting public health emergencies of COVID-19 and racism. Data suggest that COVID-19 disproportionately impacts people of colour due to social and work conditions and other structural barriers. Implementation researchers can take this opportunity to partner with BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) communities to translate evidence on how stigma and structural barriers impact healthcare experiences in the context of COVID-19 and accelerate strategies for reducing structural inequities.

If you are interested in joining the Implementation Science and Knowledge Translation Interest Group to discuss these ideas and potential collaborations, please contact me.
Eline Krijkamp,
PhD Student
Ruth Ndjaboue Njike, PhD
Rachel Pozzar, PhD, RN
Not Pictured: Kyu Eun Lee
SMDM Fellows Column:
A Work-Effectiveness Analysis from Multiple Perspectives
The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged us all to make changes to our lives and work. As fellows, we aspire to continue our research and training activities even as we adopt new roles at home and in the workplace. Nevertheless, uncertainty is pervasive in this uncharted territory. Like many others, we have wondered “Is our goal simply to survive? Or is this the time to be more productive than ever? Are we supposed to stick to the research we are currently doing? Or should we help with COVID-related research when we can?”

Eline tried to find some overlap between her research project and the COVID-related studies being launched at her institution. She found it satisfying to contribute to the COVID response and to be part of a team of investigators with a shared priority. Likewise, Rachel was relieved to find an opportunity to contribute to a study of COVID-related distress. Ruth had just started her data collection when her laboratory closed. She immediately pivoted to run an online pilot study, which is now collecting data on medical students’ perspectives of the role of communication and other professionals’ competencies in diabetes care. Meanwhile, Kyu defended her dissertation over Zoom and attended her commencement ceremony online.

At home, our routines are similarly upended. The pandemic has challenged us to find new ways to care for ourselves and others—by exercising at home, homeschooling our children, and checking on our neighbors from a safe distance. In spite of these challenges, we feel fortunate to be able to continue our work from home. We are grounded by regular meetings with our mentors and the SMDM Fellowship Director, Scott LaJoie. Further, we are inspired by the essential COVID-related work that is being carried out by members of SMDM. Researchers in the Society are collaborating with policy makers, developing clinical and patient decision aids, and modeling the pandemic. This work inspires us to adapt to and cope with recent changes as best we can. More than ever, we feel being supported by the scientific community is key to thriving in our training and progressing towards a long and happy academic career.

The SMDM Fellowship in Medical Decision Making is supported by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. The overarching goal of the SMDM Fellowship in Medical Decision Making is to build and support a cohort of future leaders with the skills to effectively apply decision science to research and practice.
Ellen Engelhardt, PhD Editor

Results from the Spring 2020 Scientific Issues in MDM Poll on Use of Gender-Inclusive Language in MDM Research
by Ellen Engelhardt, PhD; SMDM e-newsletter Editor

In the Spring Poll, we explored SMDM members’ use of gender-inclusive language in their work (e.g., surveys and research materials), and whether and how non-binary gender-identities are considered in analyses. In total, 66 SMDM members participated in the Spring 2020 poll (Thank you!).
 
Respondents mainly used the terms ‘male’ (97%), ‘female’ (96%), and ‘transgender’ (44%) when inquiring about gender-identity in their research (see Figure). Some of the respondents that did not incorporate other gender-identities than male and female in their surveys, indicated that they did provide free text space for respondents to describe themselves.

Use of constructs combining ethnicity and gender-inclusive language was infrequent, 27% of respondents indicated that they had used the term Latinx in their research. Latinx is a term specific to the American context, overall respondents from other continents indicated that they were not familiar with comparable terminology relevant in their cultural context. Fifty-nine percent of respondents indicated that they intended to use constructs such as Latinx in their future work.

When asked whether they report on gender-identity categories other than male or female, 50% (24 out of 48 who answered this question) of respondents indicated that they combine these gender-identities into an “Other” category and report that. Thirty-eight percent of respondents (18 out of 48 who answered this question) indicated that they would report gender-identity categories other than male or female, if they used them in the analyses. In the survey, respondents highlighted that the seemingly innocuous practice of using an “Other” category, is a form of non-inclusive language. Usage of the term “Non-binary” would be inclusive. When asked how they handled data on gender-identity categories other than male or female in the analyses, 73% (29 out of 40 who answered this question) of respondents indicated they included these study participants in the analyses as a single additional gender category (e.g., “Other”).

Opinions vary about the use of gender-inclusive language in MDM research. Factors that seem to be important barriers to integration of such language in research, are lack of knowledge of the correct terminology, fear of using these terms incorrectly and doubts regarding the added value of considering non-binary gender-identities in the field of MDM. 
MEETING NEWS
42nd Annual Meeting
Relationships in Medical Decision Making
Tuesdays in October | Virtual Meeting
Meeting co-chairs: David Meltzer, MD, PhD and Alan Schwartz, PhD

This year's Annual Meeting will be held as a virtual meeting with live panels, symposia, and short courses occurring each Tuesday in October, and prerecorded scientific abstracts released throughout the month. Many of the traditional SMDM in-person programs, such as career development and mentoring, will be offered in a virtual format.

Following on the 2019 meeting that examined individual stakeholder perspectives on the concept of value, the 2020 meeting theme, "Relationships in Medical Decision Making", examines how the dyadic, interpersonal, and interprofessional relationships that characterize the health care system interact in clinical and health policy decision making. Join us in exploring how the nuances of these relationships affect the way patients and health care systems make decisions and the results for health outcomes, patient experience, health care delivery, and cost.

In lieu of a keynote speaker this year, we are planning what we think will be an exciting and highly relevant extended symposium on modeling COVID-19 spread and approaches to control the epidemic. We'll include modelers from both within and outside SMDM and policy makers who have relied on models in decision making.

Special registration rates will be offered for this conference. Please consider inviting colleagues who might be interested in joining SMDM, as well as those who may have interest in this topic of universal relevance
18th Biennial European Conference
Meeting co-chairs: Beate Jahn , PhD, Silke Siebert , MD, Tobias Kurth , MD, MSc, ScD, and Uwe Siebert , MD, MPH, MSc, ScD

We are delighted to announce that the new dates for the  18th Biennial European Conference to be held in Berlin, Germany will be 6-8 June 2021 . While we were missing seeing you all this summer, we are excited to be focusing our efforts on the development of the conference program and events in 2021 including COVID-19 driven research and new insights that we all will benefit from after the crises. Abstract submission will open November 2020.

Updated information about the conference will be posted on the   18th Biennial European Conference   homepage. The Meeting Co-Chairs encourage you to download the conference flyer and post it in your university and scientific or decision maker community to help alert others to our conference.

We look forward to seeing you in Berlin 6-8 June 2021!
SOCIETY NEWS
Diane Nickolson, SMDM Executive Director
Introducing SMDM’s New Executive Director Diane Nickolson
Diane brings more than 30 years of experience in professional societies to the SMDM. She has worked with healthcare associations and international societies as both a senior manager and a consultant throughout her career. Highlights of her career includes most recently ten years as Executive Director/CEO of a multi-disciplinary international healthcare society, and earlier in her career fourteen years with the American Bar Association as a director in its continuing legal education department developing national continuing legal education courses and products. She also served as Deputy Director to another international medical society, where she was responsible for strategic planning, financial budgeting and reporting, marketing and membership activities, development and sponsor relations, international congresses and regional meetings, operations, and its peer-reviewed journal and newsletter. Diane has managed staff teams ranging from three to more than 75 people.

Diane is excited to be working with the SMDM leaders to expand on SMDM’s current programs and existing opportunities for members, supporting professional growth and research in the field. She looks forward to meeting the many committed SMDM members and partners, and supporting their efforts to make a global, positive impact on decision making in healthcare.

Diane has lectured and published in the field of association management and has been active in the association community through the years. She has lived in the Atlanta, USA area since 2004, and takes pleasure from the temperate weather, nearby mountains, and lakes. In her personal time, she appreciates spending time with Robert, their families, and of course Zeus, their beagle. She also enjoys cooking, reading, volunteering, boating, and traveling to explore new cultures, experiences, and cuisines.
SMDM 2020 Board of Trustees Election: Voting is Now Open!

All SMDM members in good standing as of June 1, 2020 are eligible to vote. Instructions for voting along with candidate biographies were e-mailed to all SMDM members in good standing. Reminder voting e-mails will be sent to all members who have not voted throughout July and August until the voting deadline. If you have any questions regarding voting, please contact info@smdm.org .

This year, SMDM members are electing a President-Elect, Vice President-Elect, Secretary-Treasurer Elect and 3 Trustees, one of whom will be designated as an International Trustee.

The process for electing the International Trustee is as follows:

  • Among the nominees for the three Trustee positions, the Nominations Committee has selected two candidates who are eligible for the International Trustee position: Janine Van Til and Hester Lingsma.

  • Among the nominees who are eligible for the International Trustee position, the nominee with the most votes will be elected to that position.

  • Of the remaining nominees, the two nominees with the most votes will be elected as Trustees of the Board.

2020 SMDM Slate of Officer & Trustee Candidates

President-Elect (3-year term; 1 to be elected)
Olga Kostopoulou, PhD  
Dominick Frosch, PhD   
 
Vice President-Elect (2-year term; 1 to be elected)
Marieke de Vries, PhD

Secretary-Treasurer Elect (3-year term; 1 to be elected)
Torbjørn Wisløff, MSc, PhD
Jeremy Goldhaber-Fiebert, PhD

Trustees (3-year term; 3 to be elected, including 1 international trustee)
Janine Van Til, PhD - International Trustee Nominee
Hester Lingsma, PhD - International Trustee Nominee
Tara Lavelle, PhD
Hawre Jalal, PhD, MD
Aubri Hoffman, PhD
Negin Hajizadeh, MD, MPH

An important benefit of your membership in SMDM is the privilege to vote for leaders to represent YOUR Society. Your participation helps to build and enhance the Society now and into the future. Results will be announced via e-mail to the membership the following week after voting closes.

Voting closes on Friday, September 4, 2020 at 3:00 PM Eastern Time.
SMDM Statement Against Racism
On behalf of the SMDM Board:

The racism and violence being committed against people of color is deeply disturbing. Many have already written and spoken on our need to be united as a community to confront racism, especially anti-Black racism, in the US and elsewhere. It is crucial that we do not remain silent in the face of these disturbing times. In addition to speaking up, we must also be asking, what can we do in our corner of the world?

As members of SMDM, it is important that we stand together as a community with open dialogue and action. We invite you to join upcoming efforts to work toward identifying specific strategies to understand racism in our personal lives; ensure that our research considers questions of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI); develop research frameworks with EDI as a cross-cutting theme; raise EDI issues in discussions with policy decision-makers when absent; and expand our educational activities to reduce racism going forward. Let’s work together to make some change in our corner of the world.

“In unity, there is strength.”
New SMDM Member (Virtual) Meetup Announced
SMDM Virtual Meetups allowed connection and collaboration during these uncertain times by providing a platform for members to discuss a wide range of topics.
SMDM is pleased to announce a final virtual meetup on August 5 th at 1 pm EST hosted by Tanya Bentley:
How the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted, might impact, or will impact your work. 
 
Join your fellow SMDMers to share stories and ideas regarding:
  • COVID-19-related work you are doing or already have done
  • Ideas you have for COVID-19-related work that you’re trying to get off the ground or for which you need feedback, collaborators, or other
  • How your work in general, whether or not related to COVID-19, has been impacted by this pandemic
  • Anything else you want to share or discuss, as related to COVID-19, SMDM, your work, or other
Stay tuned for more information on virtual meetups and other traditional SMDM programs which will be offered at the virtual meeting in October 2020.
Connect with SMDM on Social Media
SMDM is excited to announce a recently created LinkedIn page. This page will help engage our current members and attract new members and those in the medical decision making field. We encourage all members to connect with SMDM across all of our social media platforms. Please remember, the Society also has a Twitter and Facebook page. Please help us promote SMDM on all social media channels!
MEMBER NEWS
Tara Lavelle , PhD

Thanks to Zach Rivers (University of Minnesota), Saadia Sediq (University of Toronto), Vini Singh (Emory University), and Eline Krijkamp (Erasmus MC ) for hosting virtual member meetups! Zach presented an intro duction to personalized and precision medicine, Saadia and Vini hosted a conversational movie night, and Eline hosted SMDM pub trivia. And congratulations to Scott Cantor (MD Anderson Cancer Center) for winning the SMDM pub trivia event!  Eline will host the trivia event again during our virtual Annual North American Meeting, so stay tuned!  If anyone else is interested in hosting a virtual member meetup at any time , please reach out to Cara Pestorius at cpestorius@association-partners.com .
Axel Mühlbacher , MD, PhD

The outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 (coronavirus) posed a major challenge to health care systems in many countries. Despite the great uncertainty about the success or failure of non-pharmaceutical strategies to protect the population and prevent overburdening the health care system, decision-makers are forced to make decisions. These measures had, and in some cases still have, an impact on economic, social and cultural life.
These policy decisions are mainly based on subjective value judgements, regarding trade-offs between health, economy, and civil rights. Without knowledge of population preferences, it remains unclear to what extent citizens support measures to contain the coronavirus pandemic and to what extent they are willing prepared to accept economic or health losses.

To investigate the preferences of the population, we developed a discrete choice experiment (DCE) , in which respondents have to choose between several hypothetical alternatives. The attributes refer to economic and social measures taken by political decision-makers and to possible consequences of the measures and the coronavirus itself.

This study aims to analyze the preferences of the population in order to answer the question of whether citizens are willing to accept economic or private financial losses and, if so, at what extent to stop or slow down the rate of infection. The results should also document whether and to what extent society is willing to accept an excess mortality rate to stabilize the economy.

Understanding of population preferences may eventually lead to more accepted policies. And future decisions on restrictive policy interventions during a pandemic can be made in accordance with population preferences and can be implemented more easily and sustainably. ( muehlbacher@hs-nb.de )
Luciana Garbayo MD, PHD, University of Central Florida

Assistant Professor Luciana Garbayo received the Faculty Mentor of the Year Award, from the Florida Undergraduate Research Association, 2000. ( luciana.garbayo@ucf.edu )
Nicole R. Fowler , PhD, MHSA was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure at Indiana University School of Medicine. Dr Fowler is also the Associate Director of the Indiana University Center for Aging Research. ( fowlern@iu.edu )
Alan Schwartz , PhD, University of Illinois at Chicago

Alan Schwartz will be starting the part-time JD program at UIC John Marshall Law School in Fall 2020. ( alansz@uic.edu )
Anirban Basu, PhD, The CHOICE Institute, University of Washington, Seattle

Basu A. Estimating The Infection Fatality Rate Among Symptomatic COVID19 Cases In The United States. Health Affairs. 2020. ( https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/pdf/10.1377/hlthaff.2020.00455)
What Are You Working On?
Connect and collaborate with your fellow members on their latest projects:

Saad Munzar , MD, Cleveland Clinic

  • Trauma / Adverse Childhood Experiences
  • Psychosomatic medicine
  • The effects of psychology on physiology and pathology
  • Psychologic safety in Shared Decision Making
Student News
Congratulations to our recent graduates!

Janet Panoch , PhD
Graduation Date: June 2020
Area: Health Communication

Dissertation Title: Patient Preferences Matter: A Qualitative Inquiry with Patients about the Surgical Decision for Osteosarcoma in the Lower Extremity
Position Seeking: Qualitative Research in Pediatric Oncology
Email: jpanoch@iu.edu

SMDM Interactions:
Abstract: Teens Get Serious about Serious Games: A Stakeholder-Informed Video Simulation Game for Patient-Provider Communication Skills (2018)
Short Course Attended: Shared Decision Making
Interest Group: Pediatric Interest Group
SMDM Mentor: Angie Fagerlin
JOB POSTINGS
Here are the most recent job opportunities since our last newsletter. SMDM members can stay current on the newest opportunities in the Resources Section of SMDM Connect .
2020 ANNUAL FUND GIVING
The SMDM Lifetime Contributors list acknowledges the SMDM members who have made contributions to the Annual Fund and acknowledges donations and in-kind donations, received from October 2005 - July 2, 2020. Our heartfelt appreciation goes out to everyone who has supported our Society!
EDITORIAL STAFF
Editor-in-Chief
Netherlands Cancer Institute
Deputy Editor
New York University Grossman School of Medicine