The Caucus on Homelessness invites abstracts to be submitted for APHA’s 2024 Annual Meeting and Expo. We are particularly excited to review submissions that support this year’s theme: Creating the Healthiest Nation: Rebuilding Trust in Public Health and Science.

The Caucus looks forward to highlighting the value of this theme to health care for the homeless (HCH) research and to the often marginalized and underserved groups we work with. Potentially relevant topic areas may include utilization of technology to enhance or ensure delivery of care, implementation of screening or addressing social determinants of health, or creatively providing or increasing access to care through holistically clinical or non-clinical practices.

Please Note: Because of the limited session allocation of our program, it is preferred that abstracts are submitted on their individual merits, and not as part of a dedicated panel session. As abstracts are blindly reviewed, this does not necessarily disqualify related abstracts to be submitted.

Under which track should I submit? 

Submitters who ONLY want to be considered for poster presentations should submit under “Poster Session.” Those who would prefer oral presentations, or who have no preference, should submit under one of the themed categories.

The suggested domains below are adapted from the Centers from Disease Control and Prevention’s guidance on the Social Determinants of Health, as well as topical areas within the them of establishing and building upon trust. 

After reviewing the track descriptions below, please submit under the one most appropriate for your proposal’s content; If you think your proposal could be used in multiple tracks, please note this with your submission.

• **COH Poster Session
  **Only submit under this track if you know that you do not wish to present as an oral presentation. Those that have no preference may still submit under any other track and may still be accepted as a poster presentation
• Building Trust through Funding and Partnerships
  Using funding and multi-sector partnerships to build community engagement. Studies or programs that involve folks with lived experience, peer supports, or homeless service providers in the co-design, tailoring or methods of a project or program will be prioritized in this track.
• Criminal Justice Systems
  Building trust with formerly incarcerated and working for system's change.
• Disability Justice and Ableism
  Ensuring that the rights of all people are recognized and supported.
• Mental and Behavioral Health
  Evaluating and supporting access to services for all mental and physical health.
• Race and Ethnicity
  Recognizing the disproportionate inequity of those presently unhoused.
• Science of Homelessness
  Developing new models that predict and explain homelessness, Point-in-Time counts, Utilizing data and AI
• Sex, Gender, and Sexuality
  Measuring the impact of sex, gender, and sexuality for those unhoused or at risk
• Other: Proposals That May Not Align with the Above Topics
  If you are unsure of which track is best for your proposal, please submit here. High scoring submissions may be placed in one of the other relevant tracks or grouped with other submissions of similar topic areas.

Abstracts may be 250 - 400 words. Abstracts will be reviewed anonymously and rated based on the following criteria:

• Quality and description of subject matter
• Innovative/Original nature of topic
• Sophistication/rigor of methodology or program approach used
• Results, conclusions, or program outcomes adequately discussed and based on sufficient data
• Importance/Relevance of topic to the field
• Relevance to the 2024 theme of “Rebuilding Trust in Public Health and Science”
• Ability to be CE accredited (see guidelines below)

IMPORTANT! You do not need to be an APHA member to submit an abstract. However, if your abstract is accepted for presentation, the presenting author MUST become an APHA Individual Member, and you MUST register for the Annual Meeting by the September pre-registration deadline. (APHA Learning Institute faculty excluded.) Submission of an abstract implies a commitment to make the presentation at the annual meeting, therefore please make sure you understand what is required of you before submitting.

Abstracts with student researchers as senior authors are encouraged. The Caucus on Homelessness will present an award for the best student abstract submitted. The abstract will be selected by a committee. Please notify the program committee in the comments section if you are submitting a student abstract, so that it can be considered for this award. For additional information contact the program chair.

Continuing Education Credit

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:

• An abstract free of trade and/or commercial product names
• 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.
• 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. Please contact the program planner for all other questions.

Technology-based/Technology-dependent Presentations

All scientific session rooms are equipped with an LCD projector, computer (no Internet access) and screen.

If your presentation is dependent on additional technology (i.e., internet, video projection) do not submit to a Section, SPIG, Caucus or Forum. Submit your presentation to the Health Informatics Information Technology Theater (HIIT) Center. The HIIT Center is an environment for live presentations of information and computer technology applications for public health. The meeting room is equipped with Internet access, and theater-quality video projection and stereo audio.

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Ready?

Program Planner Contact Information:

Brett Poe,
bpoe@nhchc.org


and

Chelsea Hardin Hensley,
chensley@nhchc.org