Health Services Research calls for papers / meetings & conferences

Call for Proposals: 2012 Physician Assistant Education Association Annual Education Forum

November 7-11, 2012 Seattle, Washington

PAEA is seeking proposals and presenters for all sessions to be offered during its 2012 Annual Education Forum in Seattle. Presenting at this meeting is a wonderful opportunity for faculty interested in scholarly activity. By facilitating critical discussions and imparting leading edge, high impact, dynamic andragogical and program-relevant content to physician assistant (PA) program personnel, PAEA is hoping to meet the needs of its membership like never before.

Please carefully read all information below as well as review the criteria, guidelines, and format descriptions before submitting your proposal. Helpful resources including frequently asked questions, archived webinars, and upcoming proposal submission conference calls are included.

*NEW* PROPOSAL SUBMISSION PROCESS

PAEA has a new online submission system. Members will find this system intuitive and user friendly. Submitters will be required to create a username and password. This system will allow users to access and edit their proposals until the final deadline.

Per the submission guidelines, only one presentation format may be chosen for each topic submitted. Multiple format submissions for the same or similar topics will not be accepted.

The deadline to submit proposals is Monday, June 4, 2012, 3:00 p.m., EDT.

TOPICS

Proposals on all topics related to PA education and preparation for practice will be considered. Suggested topics include but are not limited to:

Teaching and learning strategies
Curriculum design and evaluation
Research on PA education and the profession
Management and leadership
Student issues
Educational technology
Academic law or legal issues
Health care issues and other topics of general interest and practical use to the PA profession
Professional competencies
The role of the PA
The delivery of health care in connection with PAs
Interprofessional Education
Diversity in the PA Profession

Call for Abstracts: 3rd International Public Health & Palliative Care Conference

Limerick, Ireland, 25-27 April 2013

Abstract Submission – Deadline 31 July 2012

The International Public Health and Palliative Conference has been growing in its number of participants since the first conference was held in 2009 in Kerala, India. Up to 250 delegates will gather together for the 3rd International Public Health and Palliative Conference to be held in Limerick, Ireland between 25-27 April, 2013.

As part of the Conference, we are delighted to announce that the International Association for Health Promoting Palliative Care will be launched.

The scientific programme will consist of key-note speakers, invited papers, concurrent presentations and facilitated workshops based on submitted abstracts. We aim to achive a high number of scientific contributions in Limerick and will mix these with creative, thought provoking contributions, workshops and café conversations that bring clinicians and academics, professionals and non professionals together to discuss and reflect on death, dying, loss and care.

Conference organisers:

Milford Care Centre & the University of Limerick
c/o Milford Care Centre
Limerick, Ireland
Telephone: +353 (0)61 485 843
FAX: + 353 (0)61 331 181
PublicHealthPalliativeCare.org

Call for Papers: 2012 Quetelet Seminar--Adult Mortality and Morbidity

December 5-7, 2012 Research Centre in Population and Societies, Catholic University of Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium

Numerous demographic studies have been focusing on mortality and range from analysis of age-specific mortality to cause-of-death analysis or risks factors analysis. In countries with a long statistical tradition, mortality levels by sex, age and cause of death are easily obtained. Epidemiologists as well as demographers took interest in identifying risks factors and markers by age, sex and cause. Although these factors and markers remain the same for morbidities and the resulting mortality, little is known about morbidity levels, be it in terms of prevalence or incidence, except for pathologies that are recorded in specific registrars or for which large surveys are conducted. In countries with incomplete demographic data, both mortality and morbidity are little or badly documented except when subjected to specific surveys such as under-5 mortality or, to a lesser extent, morbidity. The need for medical diagnosis and assessment of severity of illness makes morbidity data collection especially challenging. Morbidity data collection is especially challenging as it involves. In addition, in armed conflict, post-conflict or natural disaster situations, evaluating the number of victims is crucial to assess needs as well as to ease the reconciliation process.

The 2012 Quetelet Seminar will focus on adult age morbidity and mortality analysis from the data collection and measurement perspective. It will be organised in collaboration with the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (UCL-CRED/WHO) and International Network for the Demographic Evaluation of Populations and Their Health in Developing Countries (INDEPTH). Communications will cover existing or in-the-making tools for data collection and measurement that serve to estimate adult-age morbidity levels in countries with good-level statistical data and adult-age morbidity and mortality levels in countries with incomplete data. Particular attention will be devoted to papers that deal with estimating mortality and morbidity in crisis or post-crisis time. Studies analysing interactions between mortality and morbidity as well as the role of health monitoring systems in situations conducive to potentially high public health risk are encouraged.

The 2012 Quetelet Seminar will be organised along the following three axes:

1. Morbidity Analysis

What are the existing data collection and measurement tools to estimate incidence and prevalence of diseases, including chronic diseases? What are their limits?

What morbidity data collection and registration tools are most effective? What are the most reliable data to collect for the measurement of functional and cognitive abilities in a population so as to evaluate dependency ratios? What health monitoring systems should be developed to detect and prevent infectious disease?

2. Adult mortality in countries where data are incomplete

What are the latest developments in the estimation of adult mortality in countries where civil registration data are incomplete or non-existent? How has adult mortality changed recently in developing countries, more than three decades after the onset of the HIV epidemic and in a context of increased access to antiretroviral treatment? Beyond mortality levels, how are inequalities in adult mortality analysed (by sex, according to educational or poverty levels)? What are the lessons to be learned from demographic surveillance sites, particularly in terms of causes of death, as reflected by verbal autopsies and associated tools?

3. Demographic impacts of armed conflicts and natural disasters

What impact armed conflicts and natural disasters have on adult morbidity and mortality? How is this impact measured? What different forms of resilience develop and how are they captured? What early warning systems can be put in place to limit the impact of disasters?

Instructions for submitting paper
Abstracts (1 page including tables) should be submitted by email before 8th June, 2012 to Isabelle Theys (Isabelle.Theys@uclouvain.be). The abstracts should include a description of the paper’s objective, background, data and research methods, as well as expected findings. Authors of accepted papers will be notified by 29th June.

Paper
The completed papers, either in English or French, should be sent before 15th November, 2012. The final version should not exceed 20 single-spaced pages, including tables and references.

Language
Papers will be presented in French or English, without simultaneous translation.

Publication
A selection of publications will be published in the proceedings of the Chaire Quetelet 2012.

Deadlines
Deadline for submission: 8th June, 2012
Author notification of accepted paper abstract: 29th June, 2012
Deadline for complete paper: 15th November, 2012
Quetelet Seminar: 5th-7th December, 2012

Call for Papers for a Panel on Climate Change (2011-2014) at the International Seminar on Population Dynamics and the Human Dimensions of Climate Change

Canberra, Australia, 27-29 November 2012

Organized by the IUSSP Scientific Panel on Climate Change, in collaboration with the Australian National University

Deadline for submission of abstracts: 25 May 2012

A strong consensus has emerged among natural scientists during the last 20 years that contemporary climate change is in large part anthropogenic. There is a need now for social scientists to contribute more to our understanding of the human causes and consequences of climate change if more effective policy responses are to eventuate. Demographers have an important contribution to make; in fact their contribution is arguably pivotal to a broad interdisciplinary understanding of the issues since the concept of “population” is basic both to social scientists working on mitigation and adaptation and to ecologists and other Earth scientists.

The primary aim of this seminar is to bring together researchers who are working in the new field of population dynamics and climate change so we can take stock of what scientific progress has been made to date, share and consolidate our understanding of on-going research, strengthen and expand professional networks, and discuss priorities for future research and collaboration. A secondary and derived aim is to examine the extent to which a population perspective can help integrate insights into the human dimensions of climate change from across a number of social sciences.

The Panel seeks papers which add to our understanding of the links between population dynamics and the causes and consequences of climate change, which operate at various scales: global, regional, national, and local. We are looking for a mix of theoretical, methodological and policy-relevant papers. Issues of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

The way demographic factors and processes such as population growth, urbanization, ageing, changing household size, increasing human capital, and social mobility contribute to the drivers of greenhouse gas emissions;

The way demographic factors and processes influence the vulnerability and adaptive capacity of social groups;

The way demographic factors and processes need to be incorporated in effective mitigation and adaptation strategies;

Population-related obstacles (or advantages) to the development of effective policy; and

Conceptual analysis leading to improved integration of demographic insights regarding climate change with insights from other social sciences and the Earth sciences.

Submissions
The IUSSP Scientific Panel on Climate Change invites researchers in the field to submit online by 25 May 2012 a 200-word abstract and an extended abstract (2-4 pages including tables). Applications will be notified whether their paper has been accepted by 25 June. If the paper is accepted the completed paper must be uploaded on the IUSSP website by 10 October 2012.

If the paper is co-authored, please indicate on the abstract the names and affiliations of co-authors; submission should be made by the author who will attend the seminar.

The working language of the seminar will be English. Abstracts, extended abstracts and final papers should therefore be submitted and presented in English. Papers submitted should be unpublished and based on original research. Seminar organizers will explore possibilities to publish a selection of accepted papers.

Seminar organizers are still negotiating additional funding to that already committed. We hope to have sufficient funds to cover travel expenses for all invited participants who require support. If funding is available it will be contingent upon submission of a complete paper of acceptable quality by the deadline for papers.

For further information please contact Adrian C Hayes (adrian_hayes84@yahoo.com).

IUSSP Scientific Panel on Climate Change:
Chair: Adrian C Hayes
Members: Susana Adamo, Leiwen Jiang, Wolfgang Lutz.

Call for Abstracts: International Society for Disease Surveillance Annual Conference

The ISDS Annual Conference is the premier event dedicated to the advancement of the science and practice of biosurveillance. This year’s theme, Expanding Collaborations to Chart a New Course in Public Health Surveillance, will highlight the importance of working together across agencies, sectors, and disciplines to improve surveillance methods and population health outcomes. The conference will be held at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina in San Diego, CA, December 4-5, 2012, with Pre-Conference Workshops on December 3rd.

The ISDS Conference draws professionals from a broad range of disciplines— epidemiology and computer science to mathematical modeling and health policy—to learn and contribute the latest achievements, methodologies, best practices, conceptual frameworks, and technical innovations in the rapidly evolving field of biosurveillance. This year's conference will provide fertile ground for cultivating new ideas and partnerships with roundtable discussions, panels and other opportunities to collaborate.

The scope of this conference includes all of the components, policies, methods, practices, infrastructure, research and evaluation related to timely surveillance of communicable diseases, chronic diseases and injuries. This includes notifiable conditions, adverse events and emerging/novel threats; biological, chemical, and radiological health threats; plant, animal, and food surveillance; and environmental monitoring.

Questions regarding the Call for Abstracts may be sent to Tera Reynolds, ISDS Program Manager.

Submission deadline: September 6, 2012 (11:59pm Eastern Daylight Time)

Authors notified of acceptance: October 3, 2012

Pre-Conference Workshops: December 3, 2012

Annual Conference: December 4-5, 2012

Submission Types

Note: All abstracts for the ISDS Conference will be submitted using ScholarOne. There is a limit of 4810 characters for the text of your submission. The character count includes spaces. The character count WILL include title, authors, institutions, tables, and images, but WILL NOT include presenting author brief biographical summaries (bios) or the abstract summary that will be used in the conference program.

Oral

All abstracts submitted for oral presentation are automatically considered for poster presentation as well. Include the following components when submitting an abstract for oral presentation:

· Title (85 characters MAX)

· Objective

· Introduction

· Methods

· Results

· Conclusions

· Acknowledgements

· References

· Names and affiliations of authors

· Brief bio of lead author/intended presenter (450 characters/75 words)

· Brief summary (600 characters/100 words) of submission to be used in conference program

Poster

Include the following components when submitting an abstract for poster presentation:

· Title (85 characters MAX)

· Objective

· Introduction

· Methods

· Results

· Conclusions

· Acknowledgements

· References

· Names and affiliations of authors

· Brief bio of lead author/intended presenter (450 characters/75 words)

· Brief summary (600 characters/100 words) of submission (for potential inclusion in conference program)

Panel *New for 2012*

Panel topics should be a specific aspect of design, theory, application, or experience pertaining to the science or practice of biosurveillance. Suggested panels should be comprised of no more than four participants and a moderator. A typical panel session will consist of four 15 minute presentations, each followed by 5 minutes of questions, with 10 minutes for closing discussion (presentation lengths will be subject to change based on final agenda). When submitting an abstract for a panel, include the following components:

· Title (85 characters MAX)

· Objective

· Introduction

· Panel description

· How the moderator intends to engage the audience in discussions on the panel topic

· Names of panel presenters, moderator and affiliations

· Brief bios for each panel presenter and moderator (450 characters/75 words each) for abstract reviewers to assess appropriateness to serve on the panel for the described topic

· Brief summary (600 characters/100 words) of panel to be used in conference program

Roundtable *New for 2012*

Roundtables can have up to three facilitators to briefly introduce the topic of interest and facilitate active discussion among attendees. Roundtables must be discussion-oriented rather than didactic, lecture-driven sessions. Roundtable discussions will be 60-90 minutes (depending on final agenda). When submitting an abstract for a roundtable, include the following components:

· Title (85 characters MAX)

· Objective

· Introduction

· Roundtable description

· How the facilitator intends to engage the audience in the roundtable discussion, including sample questions

· Names of facilitators and affiliations

· Brief bios for each facilitator (450 characters/75 words each) for abstract reviewers to assess appropriateness to lead a discussion on the described topic

· Brief summary (600 characters/100 words) of roundtable to be used in conference program

System Showcase Demonstrations *New for 2012*

System showcase demonstrations will be presented during the evening poster session on the first day of the conference. A typical demonstration will illustrate one or more aspects of an innovative population/public health surveillance system that is in use or under development. Demonstrations of open source and/or free products are strongly encouraged. System showcase demonstrations are not intended to be marketing or sales presentations and such submissions will be rejected; those interested in supporting the ISDS conference with an exhibit booth should contact Tera Reynolds at ISDS for more information. When submitting an abstract for a system showcase demonstration, include the following components:

· Title (85 characters MAX)

· Objective

· Introduction

· Description, highlighting benefits to public/population health surveillance and how this demonstration will be a unique addition to the ISDS conference

· Conclusions, including lessons learned and design principles from this demonstration that attendees can take away, even if not using or intending to use the system demonstrated

· Names of demonstrators and affiliations

· Brief summary (600 characters/100 words) of showcase to be used in conference program

Track Descriptions

I. Analytical Methods

a. Analytical Methods: Applied

b. Analytical Methods: Research & Development

This theme is focused on important and novel advances in the field of surveillance methodologies and analytical approaches. Abstracts in the Applied sub-track should describe methods or processes routinely used in a production-type environment. Abstracts in the Research and Development sub-track should describe methods and processes still under development or tested within a research or pilot setting. Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

· Analytic evaluation of surveillance components

· Decision support

· Estimating morbidity and impact

· Evaluation of algorithms and systems through epidemic simulation

· Geospatial analysis

· Innovative use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology

· Integrating evidence from multiple sources

· Integration of mathematical modeling and statistical analyses

· New algorithms and evaluation of existing algorithms for cluster and event detection

· Pattern recognition algorithms

· Predictive disease modeling/predictive analytics

· Spatial cluster detection

· Statistical methods and tools for analyzing and interpreting data

· Time series analysis

II. Informatics

a. Informatics: Applied

b. Informatics: Research & Development

Abstracts in the Applied sub-track should describe methods or processes routinely used in a production-type environment. Abstracts in the Research and Development sub-track should describe methods and processes still under development or tested within a research or pilot setting. Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

· Advances in methods for classifying data

· Approaches to building interoperable surveillance systems and components

· Borderless data exchange models (e.g. federated information sharing approaches)

· Cloud computing for public health surveillance

· Data integration – acquiring, moving, storing, processing, coding, normalizing, and preparing data for analysis between systems

· Data quality

· Data visualization methods

· Electronic health records and public health surveillance

· Health information exchange

· How clinical information systems can support public health surveillance efforts

· How public health information systems can support clinical efforts

· Informatics lessons learned

· Information and knowledge exchange

· Innovations in public health informatics

· Mobile technologies for public health

· Natural language processing

· Standards and Interoperability Framework (Public Health Reporting Initiative)

· Standards used in public health surveillance

· System architectures for limited connectivity environments and disaster surveillance

· System architectures for surveillance in low-resource environments

· System architectures to leverage HIE for public health surveillance

· System descriptions of real-world solutions to challenging integration problems

· Workforce requirements and training

· Use of social media for biosurveillance

III. Policy (at local, state, federal, international levels)

This theme is focused on sharing successes, challenges or approaches leveraged in the use or development of policy which affects biosurveillance operations and activities. Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

· Creating successful surveillance partnerships

· Data sharing policies

· Federal policy agendas

· Funding strategies for surveillance

· How public health surveillance data have been used to inform policy

· International Health Regulations

· Legal/ethical/security/privacy issues in surveillance

· Meaningful Use responses by public health departments

· Policies around social media/leveraging social networks for risk communication, etc.

· Research collaborations to expand evidence-based health policy

· Workforce

IV. Public/Population health surveillance

a. Public/Population Health Surveillance: Practice

b. Public/Population Health Surveillance: Research

c. Public/Population Health Surveillance: Evaluation

This theme is focused on improving the daily processes of timely public/population health surveillance, including detection, signal validation, event characterization, investigation, and response. Abstracts in the Practice sub-track should describe practices routinely used in a production environment and/or deployed in field by public health departments or other agencies. Abstracts in the Research sub-track should describe research related to surveillance, health systems, etc. Abstracts in the Evaluation sub-track should describe evaluations of public/population health surveillance systems, workflows, protocols, etc. Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

· Adverse drug events and pharmacovigilance

· Case studies

· Chronic disease surveillance

· Collaboration success stories

· Contact tracing and network analysis

· Disaster/event surveillance

· Disparities surveillance

· Evaluation of surveillance systems

· Infectious disease surveillance

· Influenza-like illness surveillance

· Injury surveillance

· Innovations in biosurveillance

· Integrating surveillance across multiple data sources

· Integrating surveillance systems, e.g. syndromic and reportable diseases

· Linking response with frontline health workers

· Meaningful Use and how it’s changing/not changing surveillance practice

· Measuring vaccine efficacy, coverage, etc.

· Messaging/risk communication (what to say to the public, politicians and media about syndromic systems alerts)

· Mobile technologies for public health

· Novel approaches to communicable diseases surveillance and reporting (e.g., notifiable conditions, MRSA, nosocomial infections)

· OneHealth

· Outbreak detection, characterization and outbreak management

· School and university surveillance

· Situational awareness

· Social media and surveillance

· Surveillance across borders

· Surveillance for refugees and recent immigrants

· Surveillance in resource-limited settings

· Surveillance using ambulatory care data

· Surveillance using inpatient data

· Vaccine-preventable disease surveillance

Call for Papers: Beyond ‘Them’ and ‘Us’? Enacting Social Science Within the Public Health Research Agenda on Chronic Illness

Tuesday 18 September 2012. Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom

Keynote Speakers: Professor David Armstrong, King’s College London; Professor Rose Barbour, Open University

For social scientists employed in public health settings, the activities, institutions and practices marked by the term ‘public health research’ may be approached conceptually in at least three different ways:

(a) as a ‘field of work’ within which they are located, for example as doctoral students, postdoctoral researchers and in more permanent posts (‘us’)

(b) as a ‘topic of enquiry’ (an aspect of society) they are called upon to investigate (‘them’)

(c) as a recursive activity, in which they, along with every other individual, form part of the research object as well as its agent, that is by being members of a population or ‘public’ (‘we’).

Beyond Them and Us aims to unpack and critically explore this triple dimension. As early career sociologists employed in a public health setting, we observe that colleagues from biomedically-oriented disciplines sometimes express the expectation that ‘our’ contribution ‘add meaning’ to ‘their’ findings, for instance data derived from controlled trials or policy initiatives based on models of ‘complex intervention’. Yet social science approaches prompt a critical evaluation of how such methods and epistemic practices themselves operate. Similarly, within the field of chronic illness, there is often a hiatus between ‘our’ and ‘their’ understandings of the nominally designated goal of research. For instance, the shared starting point of the ‘obesity epidemic’ is interpreted in different ways.

Such differences frequently seem to lead to misunderstanding and even conflict at institutional and/or personal levels. They are inseparable from wider social and political trends, and deeply entangled with issues of the power and status of different sciences. More easily overlooked is the extent to which we are all inescapably participant subjects as well as protagonists of public health research enterprises. This further problematises any easy distinction between lay, biomedical and social-scientific orientations.

Within academic commentary, these issues are frequently framed in terms of the respective theoretical merits of ‘qualitative’ and ‘quantitative’ approaches, or proposed reconciliations between the two. In contrast, ongoing entanglements and discriminations of ‘us’, ‘them’ and ‘we’ suggest a far messier, dynamic and literally informal picture. Key questions concern whose is the social science contribution within public health research, who or what is that contribution for, and how best to enact and communicate that contribution in the real world? Discussion of these questions tends to be reserved to ‘off-page’ and ‘off-stage’ settings (e.g. frustrations shared over coffee). A more explicit articulation involves rethinking how we might theoretically and practically work with multiple and fluctuating demands, aspirations and ways of seeing.

Beyond Them and Us aims to recover the notion of ‘enacting social science within public health’ as in itself a legitimate field of social enquiry and to begin to explore a range of creative and constructive restatements, responses and/or possible resolutions. The symposium is targeted especially at early career (doctoral and postdoctoral) social scientists working within public health who face issues and dilemmas similar to those described, although proposed contributions may come from those working in any setting and from any disciplinary background. Contributions focusing on specific empirical contexts (whether ‘successes’ or ‘failures’) and/ or taking a wider critical or reflective stance are equally welcome.

Submission Process: Abstracts of not more than 300 words should be e-mailed to socsciinph@medschl.cam.ac.uk by Friday 15 June 2012. When sending the abstract please state full title of proposed paper, author(s’) name(s), affiliation, and e-mail contact details. You will be informed by early July whether your paper has been selected for the symposium.

As a second stage of the process, authors of selected papers will be requested to provide a written version (at least in summary form) of their contribution by Monday 3 September 2012 at the latest so that this can be circulated to other participants prior to the symposium. The purpose of this is to encourage a fuller cross-fertilisation of ideas and to stimulate richer and more productive discussion on the day.

Other: Subject to the outcome of funding applications, it is possible a charge may need to be imposed for participation in the symposium (including for speakers selected via this CFP) in order to cover costs. However this will be no more than £40 (with a reduced rate of £20 for all students including PhDs).

The event is organised by Emily Taylor and Paul Stronge, Research Associates, based at the Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge.

All enquiries to socsciinph@medschl.cam.ac.uk please.

Call for Abstracts: 1st International Conference on Cultural Psychiatry in Mediterranean Countries

November 5-7, 2012 Tel Aviv, Israel

Abstracts have to be submitted by 1 July 2012.

The 1st International Conference on Cultural Psychiatry in Mediterranean Countries is a highly anticipated and ambitious event that seeks to deal with novel issues appearing in a world of open frontiers, new opportunities and international upheaval and conflicts, particularly relevant in light of recent events in the region.

Identity is an evolving concept, where group boundaries have become blurred. Mental health professionals will be given the opportunity to participate in stimulating and fruitful discussions on a great variety of issues such as clinical aspects of acculturative stress, neuropsychopharmacology and integrative treatment methods.

The conference, to be held 5-7 November 2012, is aimed at leading psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, social anthropologists, students and anyone with a specialized interest in the rapidly evolving area of transcultural psychiatry.

Preliminary List of Topics

Mood, anxiety and psychotic disorders related to migration
Cultural neuropsychopharmacology
Suicide and cultural transition
Trauma and migration
Religiosity and spirituality
Stigma and Culture
Cultural transition

Kenes International
Kenes Group Building
2 Hayarden St.
Airport City, Lod 70151
Israel
Tel: +972 3 9727405
Fax: + 972 72 2447271
E-mail: wpa-tps@kenes-events.com

2013 Call for Presentation Proposals: DiversityRx 2013 Conference--the Eighth National Conference on Quality Health Care for Culturally Diverse Populations

Achieving Equity in an Era of Innovation and Health System Transformation

March 11-14, 2013, Oakland, California

New partnerships between health care organizations and communities, research into improved ways to deliver care, and changes in health care policy are opening up opportunities to achieve equity and the highest quality health care for culturally diverse populations. In this time of transition, practitioners, policymakers, researchers, and advocates for health equity can focus attention on implementation, participation and improving health outcomes for individuals and communities. The 2013 conference will offer participants the opportunity to hear from experts and front-line leaders about how diverse populations are affected by:

state and national reform efforts
changes to the Medicaid program
innovative technology for information management and outreach
social determinants of health
other practice and financing developments.

As always, the conference will continue to feature both established and innovative cultural and linguistic competence and disparity reduction programs and policies from across the country and abroad.

Presentation proposals are due by Friday, June 1, 2012.

We invite you to submit presentation proposals for this nationally acclaimed conference, which attracts over 600 participants every two years. Health care professionals, community representatives, advocates, policymakers, researchers and others from the U.S. and around the world can submit brief proposals on good practices and innovative approaches related to the following thematic categories:

language access
culturally competent care/disparity reduction
cultural competence/disparity reduction education and training
organizational cultural competence
policy
research

Prior to submitting a presentation proposal, we encourage you to view the 2010 program.

With over 200 presentations featured at the conference, a host of topics will be addressed. A detailed list of potential presentation topics can be found here.

Proposals are being accepted for a variety of presentation formats:

Main Conference Sessions
Main Conference Oral Presentations (concurrent workshops and peer-to-peer sessions)
Poster presentations
Film Festival presentations
Preconference Sessions (Preconference will take place on Monday, March 11, 2013)
Preconference Intensive training sessions
Special Sessions (may be held as a concurrent session during the main conference or may be held as breakfast sessions or evening sessions. Please indicate scheduling preference in the Comments to Organizers section of your submission.)

Presentation proposals are due by Friday June 1, 2012.

Concurrent Session Call for Programs: School and College Organization for Prevention Educators (SCOPE) 2012 Annual Conference

SCOPE is soliciting program proposals for its 2nd Annual Conference, to be held October 18-20, 2012 at the Caribe Royale Orlando in Orlando, FL.

• The Call for Programs closes on June 1, 2012.
• Notifications of acceptance/rejection will go out electronically by June 15, 2012.

Selections will be based on the following criteria:

o Relevance to the topics of: advocacy, alcohol abuse, bullying, bystander intervention, diversity, drug abuse, eating disorders, harassment, hazing, mental health, peer education, primary prevention, relationship/domestic/intimate partner violence, research, sexual assault, sexuality, sexual health, social norms, stalking, suicide, tobacco
o Completeness, detail and professionalism of the proposal
o Willingness of presenters to facilitate roundtable discussions in addition to their concurrent session(s)
o Evidence‐based, promising and innovative model programs/practices are welcome
o Engaging format, presenters and/or concepts

• You are encouraged to submit multiple proposals
• Co‐presented sessions are encouraged
• All presenters must register for the conference. You need not be a SCOPE member to attend, nor present.
• If accepted, presentation materials will be due on September 4, 2012.

All emails should be directed to Michelle Issadore, executive director via email to execdir@wearescope.org. To reach the SCOPE office by phone, call 610.993.0227.

Call for Abstracts: Disability and the Majority World: The 2nd International Conference

Date: 26th- 27th September, 2012

Venue: Manchester Metropolitan University, United Kingdom

We are pleased to confirm that the 2nd international conference 'Disability and the Majority World' will be held at Manchester Metropolitan University. The conference seeks to bring together researchers, disability activists, practitioners, organisations, and others from various fields, to discuss a range of key and emerging themes around disability in the global South. It provides a much needed inter-disciplinary, critical, supportive and open space to debate, question and challenge, while exploring alternatives in a safe and friendly environment.

Call for abstracts: OPEN- deadline (22nd September)

We are now accepting abstracts for paper presentations, and welcome contributions around (not exclusively) the following broad areas, from all disciplinary perspectives. We particularly encourage contributions from activists, researchers and practitioners from the global South:

Poverty and disability
War and conflict
Health and rehabilitation
Migration
Development
Globalisation, neoliberalism and beyond
Post/neocolonial spaces
Researching disability across cultures

Those wishing to present a paper please send an abstract (maximum 300 words) in an attached Word Document to S.Grech@mmu.ac.uk . Please ensure the abstract contains name, title of presentation, institution (if applicable) and contact email and please insert 'abstract for conference' in the subject line of your email.Paper presentations are 15 minutes.

Registration

The conference is FREE of charge, but all delegates need to register. This will help us gauge attendance and make adequate preparations.

Cancellations: we would appreciate if those registered but no longer able to attend to please inform us by email Shaun Grech: S.Grech@mmu.ac.uk

Conference Programme

In the spirit of an eco-friendly conference, please note that we will be providing an e-pack instead of printed material on the day.

Meals

The conference is free, which means that lunch and refreshments will have to be purchased from the University or elsewhere. Please let us know if you have any dietary requirements so we can make the refactory aware of delegate requirements.

Bursaries

We are afraid that despite the need, we are unable to provide bursaries (for travel, lodging or other expenses) to attend the conference.