Abstracts

Call for Abstracts 

"Advancing Health Equity Through Social Medicine Practice and Education"

We are accepting abstracts for the upcoming Social Medicine Conference 2023 at Mbarara University of Science & Technology. Accepted abstracts will be presented during the conference and posted on our website before, during, and after the conference.  Accepted abstracts in all categories of submission will be presented from June 28-29.

Abstracts may take different formats, including but not limited to:

• Traditional scientific posters

• Workshops

• Artistic pieces

Abstracts may be submitted in Portuguese,  Spanish, French, or English. Posters may be presented in Portuguese, Spanish, French, or English.

Authors of submitted abstracts are encouraged to register to attend the conference, as well as apply for a scholarship if they need support in meeting travel expenses. Only a limited number of accepted abstract presenters will receive travel scholarships to attend and present the abstracts in person.

Content:

Abstracts should describe innovative health equity programs, social medicine programs and projects, specific narratives/lived experiences/stories, community organizing, empirical research, or curricula being developed, experienced, or implemented anywhere globally.

Word Count: 400 words max.

Abstracts should address at least one of the following conference sub-themes: 

• Contemporary social medicine practice and education 

• Health advocacy

• Mitigating social and structural barriers for health equity

• Models for educating health professionals in health equity

• Financing strategies for health equity in Global South nations

• Reorganizing health and social structures to implement universal health coverage

• Centering community voices

• Developing a strategy to address climate change and its health impacts

• Dismantling global racial capitalism and reimagining social, political, and economic systems as inclusive, intersectional, and equitable

Some examples of areas that abstracts can address include: lessons from community organizing and building solidarity during the COVID-19 pandemic, COVID-19 vaccine imperialism and access to medicines, debt cancelation for health system strengthening, transnational actions in the context of  migration and deportation, climate justice organizing, healing justice initiatives, indigenous science, organizing around declaring racism as a public health crisis, abolition, critical consciousness and political education models, community platform models, examples of  organizing centering Back Indigenous People Of Color (BIPOC) communities, and innovations in social medicine education.

Submissions from community organizers, social scientists, and health professionals who are not physicians are strongly encouraged. Please note that travel scholarships are limited and priority will be given to authors of accepted abstracts from the Global South and underrepresented groups. If you would like to apply for the SMC international travel scholarship, click here.

Formats:

Posters

Poster abstracts for social medicine programs, projects, and curricula may discuss completed works, with demonstrated results and analysis, or may discuss projects at any stage of development—however, abstracts must include plans for data collection, analysis, and evaluation if projects are not yet completed.

Poster abstracts for completed projects must be structured with the following sections: 

1. Statement of Problem

2. Design

3. Implementation

4. Results and Evaluation

5. Conclusions and Future Directions 

Poster abstracts for projects still in development must be structured with the following sections: 

1. Statement of Problem

2. Description of the concept/intervention

3. Description of team members, target group, and existing models (if any)

4. Project design including plans for data collection, analysis and evaluation 

5. Initial impressions, challenges encountered, and next steps 

Workshops

Abstracts for workshops should focus on teachable skills, be interactive, and take the language, economic, educational, and cultural diversity of participants into account.  There should be a clear connection to the conference theme and any of the sub-themes. Workshops will be held on June 28 or 29. Sessions will be 90 minutes in length.  Submissions from health professionals who are not physicians are strongly encouraged.

Artistic Pieces

Categories:

• Music (e.g., jazz, rap, hip-hop, pop, rock, blues, reggae, compa, Yanvalou, etc.)

• Poetry (e.g., lyrical, dramatic, narrative, etc.) 

• Graphics (e.g., photography, painting, drawing, graphic design, video, etc.)

How to Submit an Artistic Piece:

All arts should be submitted using Google Drive. For artistic submissions within the graphics category, please include a short description of your piece. Poetry should be submitted as either (1) text accompanied by an audio recording or (2) text accompanied by a video. Music submissions should be in both text and audio form. The best art submissions will be presented live during the conference, and will be published on the EqualHealth website.

Deadline:

Abstracts will be accepted until March 18, 2023. To submit an abstract, click here.