About

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), under the leadership of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), invites you to the 2012 Science of Eliminating Health Disparities Summit (also called the 2012 Health Disparities Summit). The summit will be held on Wednesday, October 31st through Friday, November 2nd, 2012 at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland.

What is the 2012 Science of Eliminating Health Disparities Summit?

The 2012 Science of Eliminating Health Disparities Summit is an HHS-wide endeavor involving a broad spectrum of the federal government that seeks to advance activities to eliminate health disparities. The agenda will build on the momentum of the 2008 Summit and the increased interest of federal agencies to demonstrate their commitment towards improving the health of all Americans. The 2012 Health Disparities Summit represents an ongoing focus on emerging science and its intersection with practice and policy, while maintaining momentum on current national and international trends in addressing the social determinants of health.

Summit Goals

The 2012 Science of Eliminating Health Disparities Summit is focused on Building a Healthier Global Society by Integrating Science, Practice, and Policy, and specifically aims to:

Provide scientific evidence to inform immediate policies and actions to confront health disparities issues facing regional, national and global societies
Provide the practical steps on how the scientific evidence for addressing health disparities could be translated into practice in different communities and global settings
Identify practical innovations in translational research to inform practice and policy
Gather recommendations on evidence-based science policy and practical objectives and measures that can be tracked for progress over the next ten years
Publish recommendations and findings that will contribute to the development of an integrated strategy for addressing national and global inequality

Who is invited to attend?

The 2012 Science of Eliminating Health Disparities Summit will convene a highly diverse group of professionals, advocates, community stakeholders, and leaders in government, academia, business, medicine, science, dentistry, public health, and policy, in the Nation’s Capitol to participate in interactive moderated discussions on critical cross-cutting topics in the multi-faceted field of health disparities. The overall objective is to forge new alliances and provide a launching pad for creativity, collaboration, and innovation that will accelerate improved health for all Americans and a healthier global society.

History of the Summit

In 2008, the NIMHD hosted the first NIH Summit on the Science of Eliminating Health Disparities, in partnership with all of the NIH Institutes and Centers, bringing together more than 4,000 national and international clinicians, researchers, policy leaders, academicians, and community leaders. The Summit's aims were to highlight recent progress made in addressing health disparities, identify gaps, and gather recommendations that would redefine the research agenda and future approaches to integrate multiple disciplines in efforts towards eliminating health disparities.

Additional Information

Organized around the core principle of integrating science, policy, and practice, the 2012 Health Disparities Summit offers a forum for government, academia, and the public to advance scholarship and translate new knowledge into action. The rapid progress of research on health disparities opens up new possibilities for identifying effective policies with potential for building a healthier global society. The program will feature daily plenary sessions, concurrent sessions, poster sessions, and integrated panel discussions, on a wide array of topics and themes. This format will facilitate thought-provoking dialogue by bringing together presenters from diverse disciplines that are taking unique, complementary, and sometimes distinctively different approaches to health disparities. The results and recommendations generated from the sessions will serve as a roadmap for building a healthier global society in the future.Â Whether you are a long-time champion of health disparities research or are an individual interested in health promotion and well-being, the 2012 Health Disparities Summit will provide you with a broad range of educational and networking opportunities.

The summit will be organized around three main tracks:

Translational and Transdisciplinary Research Track will link policy, practice, and research findings to real-world issues with neighborhoods, health disparity population groups, and the global community. Featured research will articulate how findings have led to new knowledge in science, practice, and/or policy interventions.
Capacity-Building and Infrastructure Track will focus on themes in support of capacity-building and infrastructure. Topics will explore the challenges and opportunities in building capacity for research, public health and primary care practice, services delivery, training and education. It will also include the implementation and sustainability of infrastructure and economic development in disparate communities.
Outreach, Partnerships, Collaborations, and Opportunities Track will provide a venue for representatives from federal agencies, academic institutions, foundations, non-profit and private organizations, and community groups to showcase their innovative partnerships and outreach and dissemination efforts, including successful collaborations in addressing health disparities, and building a healthier global society.

Learn more about the 2012 Science of Eliminating Health Disparities Summit and how you can be part of this exciting milestone in health disparities research:

Call for Abstracts
Hotel

Registration Deadlines

General Registration:
Closed
Sessions Registration:
Closed

Event Details

Date:
December 17 – 19, 2012
Location:
Gaylord National Resort and Conference Center
Hotel Reservations:
December 7, 2012
Abstracts Submission Deadline:
June 29, 2012