CALL FOR ABSTRACTS — APHA's 2018 Annual Meeting & Expo

Community Health Planning and Policy Development

Meeting theme: Creating the Healthiest Nation: Health Equity Now

Submission Deadline: Monday, February 26, 2018

The Community Health Planning and Policy Development section (CHPPD) develops and advocates for health planning, policies and practices to promote health equity, community empowerment and social justice. Through the conference, CHPPD hopes to foster continued discourse, interdisciplinary collaboration and translation of practice to policy. 

The CHPPD section invites abstracts that advance these objectives and encompass our mission.  We are particularly interested in abstracts on topics broadly related to health equity, including but not limited to: health care reform, immigration reform, racism and discrimination, chronic disease and substance abuse prevention and management, immunization policies and practices, violence prevention, care coordination for vulnerable populations, rural health care, social determinants of health, community workforce development, community engagement and capacity-building, and evidenced-based policies and practices for measuring and promoting health equity.  In addition, the section invites scientific sessions and posters that address relevant planning, policy and community development themes aligning with the APHA annual meeting theme, including:

  • Adapting to health care reform in rural areas
  • Addressing emerging threats to community health
  • Addressing new and existing barriers to care in states and local communities in the era of health care reform
  • Addressing racism and discrimination as community health risk factors
  • Designing and implementing innovative transitions of care models
  • Employing novel methods for measuring health equity/inequity
  • Engaging health systems and intersectoral partners in addressing the social determinants of health
  • Exploring intersectional approaches to promoting health equity
  • Framing immigration policy as a determinant of health
  • Implementing community-based solutions to prevent and manage chronic diseases
  • Improving community health through innovative, interdisciplinary partnerships
  • Integrating mental health, substance abuse, and primary care to promote health equity
  • Integrating public health, social services, and health care systems to promote health equity
  • Mobilizing communities to advocate for health equity
  • Preparing traditional and non-traditional partners to deliver patient-centered care
  • Preventing violence: policies and practices that promote safer communities
  • Promoting health equity through population health management
  • Translating research into policy and practice
  • Translating vaccine policy into practice
  • Unscheduled
  • Using quality improvement strategies to promote health equity

Abstracts should limited to 350 words and must include at least one measurable learning objective or an experiential learning activityGuidance for writing learning objectives can be found below in the Continuing Education Credit section. Referrals to web pages or URLS may not be used for abstracts. Abstracts must not have been presented or published in any journal prior to the APHA Annual Meeting.

Any abstract requiring the use of film or video must be submitted to the Film and Technology Theater section, regardless of topic.

For any and all inquiries about your abstract, always reference the abstract number assigned to you by the APHA on-line system. All presenters must be Individual members of APHA, register for the meeting, and complete a Conflict of Interest disclosure in advance of the Annual Meeting.

There are 2 major categories of abstracts:

  1. Research Abstracts
    Please include the following information if submitting a research abstract:
  • Background
  • Objectives
  • Methods
  • Results
  • Conclusion(s)
  • Public health implications 
  1. Program Planning/Implementation/Evaluation Abstracts
    Please include the following information if submitting a program planning/implementation/  evaluation abstract:
  • Introduction to problem or issue being addressed
  • Description of evidence and theory used to inform program development/ implementation
  • Description of program activities and outcomes, or plan to evaluate outcomes
  • Conclusion(s)
  • Recommendations for practice

Please refer to the Continuing Education Credit section below for additional guidance on what to include in the abstract submission.

Invited CHPPD Sessions

An invited is an oral scientific session of between four to five panelists on a related issue or multi-faceted project organized by a CHPPD section member. To propose an invited CHPPD session, the session organizer must a) be a member of APHA, b) have selected CHPPD as a section choice, c) and follow all steps listed below:

First, contact program chair Kimberly Enardkimberly.enard@slu.edu and co-chair, Shannon Nicks, nicks@ohio.edu, with a brief proposal describing the intended session.  Once the Program Committee deems that the proposed session aligns with the themes of CHPPD and the conference, you will be officially invited to submit a detailed proposal. This will require you to complete the following:

  1. Complete an invited session cover sheet.
  2. Submit each abstract individually through the on-line system no later than the abstract due date. Note each assigned abstract number following submission.

All abstracts will be considered as individual submissions. Consideration for the abstracts as a proposed session will occur after the individual review of abstracts. CHPPD does not generally accept full sessions related to a single project.

A proposed invited session should not include more than 5 abstracts. A minimum of 3 abstracts for a proposed invited session needs to be accepted by the review process in order for the invited session to be scheduled. If less than 3 abstracts are accepted, then the accepted abstracts will be combined with other accepted abstracts to develop a different panel, roundtable or poster session.

Invited sessions and their component abstracts have the same deadline as individual abstracts submitted to the CHPPD section. There will be NO EXTENSIONS or alternate deadlines for proposed invited sessions.

Invited session planners are encouraged to submit sessions that further critical dialogue beyond Q&A, and actively engage audiences using innovative presentation formats and experiential learning activities. For example, a session may demonstrate and train participants hands-on in the use of an advocacy tool.

Students and New Presenters

We highly value the enthusiastic membership and contribution of students to the CHPPD section’s content. We encourage students to present their work at the 2018 conference, through oral sessions, posters, and panels. We also encourage students to submit abstracts highlighting collaboration with faculty and community members. Members who have never presented at an APHA annual meeting, especially underrepresented groups, are also encouraged to become "new presenters" in 2018.

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 outcome (“to understand” or “to learn” are not measurable outcomes and compound outcomes 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 I am the Principle Investigator of this study is NOT an acceptable qualification statement.

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 6 areas that your presentation will address.

Thank you for your assistance in making your session credit worthy. Contact Mighty Fine at mighty.fine@apha.org if you have any questions concerning continuing education. For program questions, contact the program planner listed below.

We look forward to your important contribution to CHPPD’s program at the upcoming APHA Annual Meeting!


Ready?

Program Planner Contact Information:

Kimberly Enard, PhD, MBA, MSHA
Department of Health Management and Policy
Saint Louis University College for Public Health and Social Justice
3545 Lafayette Avenue, Salus Center
3rd Floor
Saint Louis, MO 63104
Phone: 3149771303
kimberly.enard@slu.edu

and
Shannon Nicks, PhD, MPH
Department of Social and Public Health
Ohio University
53 Richland Ave
Ohio University, Grover Center W324
Athens, OH 45701
Phone: 740-597-1695
nicks@ohio.edu