The American Psychological Association’s (APA) Advisory Steering Committee for Development of Clinical Practice Guidelines is seeking nominations of individuals to serve on a panel that will update APA’s 2018 Clinical Practice Guideline for Multicomponent Behavioral Treatment of Obesity and Overweight in Children and Adolescents: Current State of the Evidence and Research Needs. The Advisory Steering Committee seeks to produce an updated version that will be approved as policy by the APA Council of Representatives by early 2024 or as soon as feasible, in keeping with the widely accepted recommendation that clinical practice guidelines be considered for updating at least every five years.
Individuals with expertise in treating children and adolescents with obesity and overweight with particular expertise in working with Latino/a/x, Black/African American, or Native American populations are particularly sought. Further, members of the broader community who are affected by obesity and overweight and have relevant demonstrated leadership experience, are encouraged to self-nominate. Nominees who will enhance the diversity of the panel membership and the perspectives represented on the panel are particularly encouraged to apply. Individuals who previously served on the guideline development panel that produced the 2018 guideline are eligible to be considered.
The update panel will be comprised of approximately 3 or 4 members. They will include:
- Researchers and practitioners from psychology and other disciplines with expertise or experience related to the treatment of obesity and overweight in children and adolescents.
- One or more community members who have been treated for obesity and overweight or have had experience interacting with, supporting, or advocating for children and adolescents who have been treated for obesity and overweight.
Nominees’ materials will be initially reviewed by the Advisory Steering Committee and appointments to the panel will be made by APA’s Board of Directors. One member of the panel will be designated as the chair. Appointments will be contingent on a review of nominees’ potential conflicts of interests. Membership in APA is not a requirement to serve on the panel.
The panel will selectively update the 2018 guideline including adding in additional contextual information (e.g., cultural considerations) and updating the organization and text of the guideline document to align with guidance from the Advisory Steering Committee and other sources. The panel will not itself conduct systematic reviews but will utilize existing reviews and/or solicit new reviews, with the guidance of the Advisory Steering Committee and potentially other consultants.
It is expected that the panel’s work will take approximately one year or less. Progress reports will be provided to the Advisory Steering Committee, Board of Directors, Council of Representatives, and APA governance groups on a regular basis. The panel’s activities will be supported by designated APA staff.
Panel members should have expertise or experience in one or more of the following areas:
- Treatment of obesity or overweight in children and adolescents
- Clinical practice guideline development
- Comparative effectiveness research
- Systematic reviews
- Design and conduct of clinical trials
- Contemporary methods for evaluation of psychological, behavioral, or pharmacological interventions
- Dissemination/implementation research
- Relevant expertise in research design and statistical analysis
- Experience applying clinical practice guidelines in practice settings
- Experience using or providing training in evidence-based practices
- Direct provision of psychological or medical care in diverse practice settings or with diverse populations
- Patient/consumer perspectives
- Federal agency policies and programs related to clinical practice guidelines
- Health care systems administration
- Public health research and applications
- Public and community health delivery systems
- Experience in change processes research
- Experience in qualitative research
It is anticipated that the members of the panel will collectively have experience working with a broad range of populations (including those described on such dimensions as race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, culture, language, gender, sexuality, and physical and mental abilities) and in a broad range of settings.
Panel members will be expected to commit to the following:
- Attend one extended meeting if needed (meetings will be held either virtually or in person in Washington, DC and will be scheduled after panel is constituted).
- Active participation in monthly videoconference calls as well as email communications.
- During some periods, commit several hours per week to assessing systematic reviews and related literature and to writing or revising sections of the guideline document.
- Respond to emails and requests for information from fellow panel members and APA staff throughout the guideline update process.
- Willingness to serve for one year (or until the guideline update is complete).
Interested individuals should nominate themselves. Your nomination materials should include a cover letter indicating your willingness to serve for one year (or until the guideline update is complete), a brief statement of your specific expertise and qualifications related to the criteria described above, and a current resume/curriculum vitae.
Current members of the following APA governance groups that have oversight of APA guideline activities are not eligible to serve on the panel: Board of Directors, Board of Professional Affairs, and Board of Scientific Affairs.
In general, individuals may serve on only one active APA clinical or professional practice guideline panel at a time, although they may serve on more than one over the course of time.
Please email all nominations and supporting materials to the APA Clinical Practice Guidelines mailbox by Tuesday, May 23, 2023. In the event of questions or difficulties regarding email transmissions, please contact Jacob Marzalik, MA, project manager for APA clinical practice guidelines, at jmarzalik@apa.org.
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