CALL FOR ABSTRACTS — APHA 2024 Annual Meeting and Expo
Ethics
Meeting theme: "Rebuilding Trust in Public Health and Science"
Submission Deadline: Friday, March 29, 2024
The Ethics Section is pleased to invite abstract submissions for individual or panel 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 Ethics Section notes that being trustworthy is crucial to being trusted, and seeks abstracts that reflect research findings, case studies, and best practices promoting trustworthy science and public health.
(a) Trustworthiness Developing Artificial Intelligence, Large Language Models (LLMs), and Big Data Systems for Public Health Developing trustworthy artificial intelligence (AI), large language models (LLMs) and “big data” systems that innovatively promote public health while aligning with public health ethics core balues and obligations and avoiding harms. Harms could include - algorithmic bias, privacy violation, social manipulation, or distortion by commercial interests, etc.
(b) Trustworthiness Using Artificial Intelligence in Public Health Practice Ethical challenges of utilization of artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models (LLMs) in public health practice, including in institutes of higher learning and/or in state and local health.
(c) Trustworthiness in Transparent Public Deliberation and Community Engagement Challenges of transparency and community engagement in deliberating and balancing ethical tradeoffs and considerations inherent to public health practice; redressing failures of public health; and/or developing sound public health policy.
(d) Trustworthiness Supported By the Apha Code of Public Health Ethics Abstracts that relate to using the APHA Public Health Code of Ethics to guide trustworthy ethical decision-making in both research and practice. Submissions on this topic might elaborate on how to apply the Public Health Code of Ethics framework to a specific dilemma or decision. Additionally, they could showcase how the Code of Ethics can interact with materials such as case studies or the creative arts to contribute to core competencies of the public health workforce. Alternatively, they might highlight perceived limitations of the Code, or proposed amendments/additions to the Code.
(e) Trustworthiness Addressing Intersectionality of Social Determinants of Health and Building Responsive Partnerships Challenges of public health to address social determinants of health that impact intersections between health and all other areas of human flourishing; and challenges of developing multi-sectoral partnerships to address the complex intersectionality of these social issues. Examples could include: climate change, environmental health, food systems, educational attainment, reproductive health, economic robustness, housing, transportation, and/or built environment.
(f) Trustworthiness Developing Public Health Institutions That Address Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging (DEIB). Developing public health institutions that are trustworthy in addressing diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB), and addressing vulnerabilities of minoritized populations.
(g) Trustworthiness in Global Health (Collaborative session with the Human Rights Forum) Ethical challenges of global public health addressing issues such as international migration/refugees, food and water security, global climate change, sustainability, infectious disease/epidemics in global perspective, international aid/institutions for providing public health services in conflict zones.This is a collaborative session with the Human Rights Forum.
(h) Trustworthiness: Social and Historical Lessons Social and political history of public health, especially addressing local challenges of, or local contributions of, the public health community in the 2024 conference location, Minneapolis, MN, from a public health ethics perspective. Potential topics related to Minneapolis/Minnesota could include: public health support for Minnesota Indian Tribes; public health support for refugee communities including Somali, Hmong, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Hispanic, etc.; and public health initiatives to promote racial healing and/or health.
(i) Other Topics Related to Public Health Ethics Will be Considered.
Submission instructions
You do not need to be a member of APHA, 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 planners with any questions: Eldonna Chesnut *(Eldonna.Chesnut@jocogov.org) and Ann Mongoven (ann.mongoven.apha@gmail.com).
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 based on:
1.Relevance to public health ethics AND/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. If you are an international student who, if accepted, would require APHA confirmation for visa purposes, please include the contact information of your American consulate along with your contact information.
Session Submission Preferences and Types
Oral presentations are 15 minutes. Oral presenters are organized into panel discussion with up to four presenters. Proposers may apply as individuals, or as a pre-organized panel with no more than four presenters. A minimum of 15 minutes of overall 1.5-hour session time should be allowed for questions/discussion with the audience.
Round table sessions
Poster sessions 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 (CE) requirements so that all Ethics sponsored sessions will be eligible for CE credits for attendees.
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. These attendees may be counting on attaining the credits needed for license renewal. Please complete all required information when submitting an abstract as incomplete information can disqualify a session for CE credit.
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) Only one or two MEASURABLE outcomes. (DO NOT USE “To understand” or “To learn” as objectives, they are not measurable.) Acceptable Measurable Action Words are 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. Please indicate what qualifies you personally to speak on this topic. An example of an acceptable Qualification Statement can be viewed on the online Disclosure form –
Contact Mighty Fine at mighty.fine@apha.org if you have any questions concerning continuing education credit.
