The Disability Section of the American Public Health Association is seeking abstracts on topics related to disability and public health for presentation at the 2017 APHA annual meeting.

The Disability Section is seeking submissions for oral and poster sessions in these areas:

• Assessing and supporting the mental health of people with disabilities
  
• Building an inclusive workforce: Access to education and jobs for people with disabilities
  
• Changing climate through healthy community design: Addressing social constructs, biological attributes and environmental exposures creating vulnerabilities for people with disabilities
  
• Disability data collection and surveillance
  
• Ensuring the right to health and health care for persons with disabilities
  
• Evidence-based health promotion interventions for persons with disabilities
  
• Health, economic and social disparities among people with disabilities (including youth, young adults, and older adults with disabilities)
  
• Impact of extreme environmental conditions and emergency planning, recovery and response systems for people with disabilities
  
• Innovative policies, programs and services that focus on improving the health and wellness of people with disabilities
  
• Integrating disability in medical and healthcare education and practice
  
• Maternal health and health care, including reproductive and perinatal health, for women with disabilities
  
• Policies, programs and services that promote inclusion of people with disabilities
  
• Policy, systems and environmental changes that support active transportation (e.g., public transportation, walking, biking)and community inclusion for people with disabilities
  

Abstracts are limited to 250 words. Abstracts are reviewed anonymously and rated based on the following criteria:

 (1) importance of the issue or problem addressed;

 (2) clarity of content;

 (3) soundness of the methodology and conceptual framework used;

 (4) substantive findings or recommendations; and

 (5) relevance to a broad audience.

Those whose abstracts are accepted for presentation will be asked either to give 15-minute oral presentations or to present their work in one of the Sections hour-long poster sessions. Abstracts submitted and accepted for the APHA Annual Meeting may not be presented at any other meeting or published in any journal prior to Monday, November 6, 2017. Research in the pilot or development stages, small-scale studies, and descriptions of projects without a significant evidence base are best suited to poster presentations. Submissions from students are encouraged, and students should indicate their status when submitting their abstracts.

Presentation requirements

While it is not necessary to be a member of APHA to submit an abstract, all presenters must be members of APHA and must register for the annual meeting. Presentations must be accessible and adhere to Disability Section guidelines for accessibility.

Continuing Education Credit

APHA values the ability to provide continuing education credit to physicians, nurses, health educators, and those certified in public health at its annual meeting. Please complete all required information when submitting an abstract so members can claim credit for attending your session. These credits are necessary for members to keep their licenses and credentials. For a session to be eligible for Continuing Education Credit, each presenter, panelist, discussant, and/or faculty must provide:

1) an abstract free of trade and/or commercial product names.

2) at least one MEASURABLE SINGLE objective (“to understand” or “to learn” are not measurable objectives and compound objectives are not acceptable). Use ONLY the following Measurable Action Verbs: Explain, Demonstrate, Analyze, Formulate, Discuss, Compare, Differentiate, Describe, Name, Assess, Evaluate, Identify, Design, Define or List.

3) A signed Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form with a relevant qualification statement;

Example of Acceptable Biographical Qualification Statement: (I have been the principal or co-principal of multiple federally funded grants focusing on the epidemiology of drug abuse, HIV prevention and co-occurring mental and drug use disorders. Among my scientific interests has been the development of strategies for preventing HIV and STDs in out-of-treatment drug users.)

Please note that stating “I am a Principal Investigator/Project Coordinator of this project.” is not sufficient since it only gives submitter's job title or position. Please add additional information about your experience and/or background.

4) All continuing education learning content must be of sound science or professional practice and serve to maintain, develop, or increase the knowledge, skills and professional competence of the health professional. Learning content should be evidence-based if available. A list of over 30 areas will be provided online for you to choose from. You will be asked to choose at least one or up to six areas that your presentation will address.

Thank you for your assistance in making your session credit worthy. Contact Annette Ferebee at annette.ferebee@apha.org if you have any questions concerning continuing education.

For program questions, contact the program planner listed below.

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Ready?

Program Planner Contact Information:

Amy Rauworth, MS
Lakeshore Foundation
4000 Ridgeway Drive
Birmingham, AL 35226
Phone: 205-313-7487
amyr@lakeshore.org