The Ethics Section is pleased to invite abstract submissions for individual oral/paper presentations, roundtable, and poster presentations on topics concerning ethics and public health. We encourage submissions from academic researchers, public health practitioners and students, and community members addressing social challenges across the globe.

The focus of this year's Call for Abstracts are submissions framed to fit with the 2023 theme Creating the Healthiest Nation: Overcoming Social and Ethical Challenges.

The Ethics Section is seeking abstracts that reflect research findings, case studies, promising practices, and best practices that lead to overcoming social and ethical challenges to health. This may include, but is not limited to, abstracts that address the ethical perspectives of the following:

• Challenges Experienced by Minoritized & Vulnerable Populations, such as Black/African-American, Indigenous, Hispanic/Latinx, Asian/Pacific Islander, LGBTQI2S+, and People with Disabilities
  
• Challenges Impacting Economic & Educational Attainment
  
• Climate Change/Environmental Health Challenges
  
• Food Systems (or OneHealth Policy)
  
• Housing Challenges
  
• Social and Political History of Public Health, especially celebrating local contributions of the 2023 location of Atlanta, Georgia
  
• Transportation Challenges
  

Additionally, the Ethics Section welcomes abstracts that relate to using the Public Health Code of Ethics to guide ethical decision-making and analysis, in both research and practice. Submissions on this topic must showcase how the Code of Ethics and other materials, such as case studies or the creative arts, can contribute to core competencies of the public health workforce. Other possibilities include furthering discussion of how to apply the Public Health Code of Ethics to a specific dilemma or decision.

You do not need to be a current member of the Ethics Section, or a professional in ethics, to submit an abstract. However, accepted presenters must become APHA members prior to the Annual Meeting. Please contact the program planner at ethicsprogramchair[at]gmail.com with any questions. Thank you and we look forward to receiving your abstract!

Submission instructions

Please note that if you are submitting an abstract to another APHA section, their instructions might be slightly different. Ethics Section abstracts are limited to 350 words.

Abstracts are scored on the basis of:

1.Relevance to public health ethics OR relevance to the meeting theme

2.Originality

3.Quality and clarity of the description of what will be presented

4.Quality and completeness of supporting data, theoretical model, and/or philosophical foundations of what will be presented

5.Importance for public health practice

Student Submissions

Submissions by students and trainees are especially encouraged. If you are a student or were first author on the submission while a student or trainee, please note this in the 'Presenting Author and Awards Submission' section of the abstract submission page to be considered for a graduate or undergraduate award. If you are a NIH K-awardee or other career development award recipient cultivating ethics or section related expertise, you are also eligible. Accepted international students are encouraged to contact the program chair(s) at ethicsprogramchair[at]gmail.com. Please specify the contact information of your local U.S. consulate and the chair will reach out to confirm conference attendance for business travel visas.

Session Submission Preferences and Types

Please note: For 2023, the Ethics Section is following a "one abstract one slot rule." In other words, we will not be considering "coordinated panel sessions" where all abstract authors intended to present their own slides. Oral presentations are combined by the Ethics Section Program Committee into thematic panels of 3-4 presenters. If your abstract is assigned to an oral session, you can speak to moderators about splitting the allocated 15 minutes among two or more abstract authors.

• Oral presentations are 15 minutes and should allow at least 10-15 minutes for discussion with the audience. Oral presenters are organized into panel discussion with up to four presenters.
• Round table sessions do not involve formal slide presentations, but rather in-depth discussions with attendees. In a round table session, each presenter introduces their topic to the general audience for 3-5 minutes, and attendees then select a table from among those presenters for 30-minutes of in-depth conversation and group interaction on the abstract topic. At the end of the 30 minutes, the moderator will ask attendees to select a new table. Presenters will typically have 2-3 different audiences during the 90 minute session.
• Poster sessions/presentations are typically one hour (with attendees approaching the presenter at their poster throughout the hour).

Continuing Education Credit

The Ethics Section requires all abstracts conform to the APHA Continuing Education requirements.

APHA values the ability to provide continuing education credit to physicians, nurses, health educators, veterinarians, 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 must provide:

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

2) At least one MEASURABLE outcome. (DO NOT USE “To understand” or “To learn” as objectives, they are not measurable.) Examples of Acceptable Measurable Action Words: 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. See an example of an acceptable Qualification Statement on the online Disclosure form.

Contact Mighty Fine at mighty.fine@apha.org if you have any questions concerning continuing education credit.

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Ready?

Program Planner Contact Information:

Bruce Tizes, MD JD MPH
btizes@gmail.com


and

Karen Meagher, PhD
meagher.karen@mayo.edu


and

Andrea Lowe, MPH, CPH
andrealowe48@gmail.com