Thank you for considering submitting your abstract to the Trade & Health Forum of the American Public Health Association! We invite abstracts for oral and poster presentations to be held at the APHA Annual Meeting, in person, in San Antonio, Texas, from November 1–4, 2026. We especially encourage submissions related to APHA’s 2026 Annual Meeting theme, “Together We Thrive: Health Across the Lifespan.”

We seek work that examines how U.S. and global trade policies shape public health, health systems, and health equity. Trade & Health covers a diverse and broad array of topics, which may address food systems, medicines, health technologies, energy, equipment, and natural resources, as well as the commercial and regulatory forces that influence access to basic needs. Submissions may engage with trade agreements, global supply chains, market concentration, corporate practices, and/or the intersection of trade with labor, environmental, and social policies.

Additionally, we welcome abstracts addressing contemporary trade-related disruptions with significant health implications, including sanctions and economic coercion; armed conflict and geopolitical instability (e.g., Sudan, Israel-Palestine, Venezuela, Ukraine, and other affected regions); climate change; artificial intelligence (AI); democratic backsliding; and policies affecting reproductive autonomy. Presentations may examine how these forces affect access to essential goods and services, constrain or expand public health policy space, influence trust in institutions, or exacerbate health inequities across the life course.

Examples of presentation topics include, but are not limited to:

• Climate Change, Energy, Natural Resources, and Health
  
  • Energy transitions, trade policy, and health equity
  • Climate change, trade, and environmental health
  • Sanctions, energy shortages, and health consequences
  • Environmental degradation linked to global extraction trade
  • Occupational health as it relates to extraction and trade in natural resources (e.g., water, minerals, oil, gas) 
• Commercial Determinants of Health
  
  • Corporate influence, trade policy, and public health
  • Marketing, trade, and regulation of unhealthy commodities
  • Corporate accountability, human rights, and environmental impacts
  • Civil society and public health advocacy to counter harmful commercial practices
• Economic Policy, Shocks, and Political Economy of Health
  
  • Artificial intelligence (AI), automation, and labor market disruption
  • Macroeconomic shocks and population health
  • Trade, privatization, and health service delivery
  • Labor markets, migration, and health outcomes
  • Economic policy and reproductive health access
• Globalization, Trade, and Health Systems
  
  • Public health effects of specific trade and investment agreements
  • Global supply chains and health system resilience
  • Food systems and nutrition (in)security affected by global trade
  • Health equity in trade policymaking
  • Access to medicines, vaccines, equipment, and health technologies
• Health Workforce, Migration, and Trade in Conflict Settings
  
  • Cross-border movement, recruitment, and displacement of health workers in conflict and post-conflict settings
  • Impacts of sanctions, visa regimes, and trade or labor agreements on health workforce capacity
  • Health worker shortages, brain drain, and ethical recruitment in fragile and conflict-affected contexts
  • Implications for health system resilience, service delivery, and population health
• Health-Promoting Trade Policies and Governance
  
  • Global governance, health diplomacy, and “Health in All Policies”
  • Policy space for public health within trade and investment regimes
  • Trade policies that promote health, equity, and sustainability
  • Democratic participation and transparency in trade negotiations
• Infectious Disease, Markets, and Global Health Security
  
  • Trade, supply chains, and access to vaccines and medicines
  • Intellectual property, manufacturing capacity, and equity
  • Health workforce impacts of global health emergencies
  • Trade policy responses to pandemics and infectious disease threats
• Trade, Scarcity, Conflict, and Health
  
  • Scarcity and sanctions: access to essential goods for basic health needs (food, energy, basic goods and medicines)
  • Health impacts of armed conflict, geopolitical instability, and violence
  • Economic sanctions, trade restrictions, and population health
  • Resource extraction, competition, and conflict-related health outcomes

Submission Guidance and Continuing Education Info

Abstracts must be submitted electronically through the APHA website by March 31, 2026. Abstracts are limited to 350 words and must not have been previously presented or published prior to the APHA Annual Meeting.

You don’t need to be an APHA member to submit an abstract. However, if an abstract is accepted, the presenting author must become an APHA individual member, must register for the Annual Meeting by the registration deadline, and must present in person (no virtual option).

For guidance on writing a high-quality abstract, we suggest reading Higgins et al. (2013), BMJ: https://www.bmj.com/content/346/bmj.f2974. Feel free to contact us if you have additional questions or need further guidance.

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. These credits are necessary for members to keep their licenses and credentials. Please complete all required information when submitting an abstract so members can claim credit for attending your session.

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 objective. (Do not use “to understand” or “to learn,” as these are not measurable. Acceptable action verbs include: 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.

We appreciate your assistance in ensuring that Trade & Health Forum sessions are eligible for Continuing Education Credit and look forward to receiving your abstract.

For questions related to abstract submission, please contact the Program Planner at elise-pohl@uiowa.edu.

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Program Planner Contact Information:

Elise Pohl, MSc
elise-pohl@uiowa.edu