We at the Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research (MICHR) invite you to our upcoming “IDEAL Community and Health Equity Symposium.” This all-day event will bring together academic researchers, community leaders, healthcare professionals, and statewide community advocates to share milestones and advance strategies for addressing health disparities.

This event is occurring during our nation’s ‘Black Maternal Health Week’ and ‘National Minority Health Month,’ as well as our institution’s ‘Healthcare Equity Month.’ In recognition of these movements, we will be joined by plenary speakers and community presenters leading within these spaces.

In addition, the agenda for the day will include research presentations, round-table discussions, breakout sessions, and organic networking opportunities.

This event is free to attend and open to all individuals invested in advancing health equity in our state. In addition, travel support is available for community attendees.

Plenary Speakers

Ella Greene-Moton
President, The American Public Health Association

Ella Greene-Moton has an extensive background in public health advocacy, Public Health policy, Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR), and programming, spanning over the past forty plus (40+) years in the City of Flint and surrounding areas. In addition, specific efforts in public health Ethics have focused on providing awareness at the community level, developing and elevating the community voice and advocating for community inclusiveness at the State and National Levels. Her areas of expertise include facilitating community/academic/practice partnership building and sustainability; developing, managing, and evaluating community-based projects; and training programs for graduate students, community members, as well as middle and high school students partnering with community-based organizations, schools, and public health agencies.

David R. Williams, Ph.D.
Florence and Laura Norman Professor of Public Health; Professor of African and African American Studies and Sociology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

David R. Williams is a St Lucian and American social scientist who has specialized in the study of social influences on health. His research has enhanced our understanding of the complex ways in which race, socioeconomic status, racism, stress, health behaviors and religious involvement can affect physical and mental health. He has been invited to keynote scientific conferences in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Australia, South America and across the United States. Currently, he is the Florence Sprague Norman and Laura Smart Norman Professor of Public Health, and chair of the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He is also a Professor of African and African American Studies and of Sociology at Harvard University.

Abstract Submission

The symposium will include poster and roundtable sessions. We will be highlighting multiple projects/topics per session and are actively soliciting submissions for all session types. If you are engaged in research that intersects issues related to health inequity – whether through the lens of an investigator, policy maker, clinician, community-engaged researcher, or other - we strongly encourage you to submit your work for consideration through our PORTAL by March 22, 2024.

Abstract Submission Guidelines

• You are allotted up to 300 words

• Three (3) keywords for each abstract will be included.

• The expectation when an abstract is submitted, is that the submitting author will be in attendance either at their roundtable or poster.

• If accepted for presentation at the meeting, the abstract will be published as submitted into the Program. However, IDEAL staff reserve the right to edit any abstract that contains grammatical errors.

• Each submitted abstract will be reviewed by 3-4 community and academic reviewers and scored according to criteria described below.  

Abstract Categories

IDEAL will accept abstracts from a wide range of category topics including the following:

• Pediatric health equity

• Diversity in Clinical Trial Recruitment and Management

• Rural Communities and Health Equity

• Community Engagement/CBPR

• COVID-19

• Maternal Health Equity

• Health equity - general

• Patient Experience

• Digital Divide in Health and Health Care

• Inclusivity in research

• …and more!

Previously Presented Abstracts

• Due to copyright concerns, abstracts previously presented at a national or international meeting cannot be submitted.

• Abstracts cannot contain data already accepted for publication in any online or PubMed indexed venue at the time of abstract submission.

Evaluation of abstracts will be based on the following considerations

• Innovation

• Importance

• Clearly stated approach/methods

• Results/Data (if data based abstract)

• Conclusions/Findings

Abstract Notifications

Abstract notifications will be sent by email by March 29, 2024. If selected, you will be asked to participate in your session, in person, on the day of the event (Friday, April 12th).