Inviting all maternal health advocates to share their work and network! Submit a proposal to present at the second National Maternal Health Innovation Symposium.
The Symposium serves everyone interested in improving systems of care and maternal health outcomes, including public health professionals, health care providers and administrators, community groups, advocates, policy makers, researchers, and many others. The first year of the Symposium (2020) attracted more than 1,000 registrants.
We are currently planning an in-person event with a virtual attendance option.
The Maternal Health Learning and Innovation Center is seeking proposals for workshop and Spark Session presentations. These flexible opportunities are appropriate for a diverse range of groups and individuals working to advance maternal health.
Students are welcome to submit proposals through this Call for Proposals, though we do anticipate having additional options for students to share work available at a later date.
Proposals are due June 11, 2021 at 11:59 PM ET. Access the proposal form here.
NOTE: This survey does not have a save and return function. Please be prepared to submit all of your responses at one time. The questions are listed below.
Email Allison George with questions about proposals.
Workshop Proposals
Workshop sessions will be 60 total minutes in length and focus on presenting ideas, research, innovative programming, and/or promising practices related to improving maternal health.
Presenters can choose to submit a proposal for two different lengths of time:
- 30-minute proposals will be matched with a similar proposal to fill the 60 minute space and will include at least 10 minutes of discussion/audience Q&A
- 60-minute proposals will include at least 20 minutes of discussion/audience Q&A
Workshop proposals should align with one of the four Symposium focus areas:
- Community and/or clinical engagement
- Innovation
- Policy
- Special focus—for notable presentations that do not fit in above areas
Currently, we plan to host a hybrid Symposium with in-person and virtual attendance options. Please indicate in your proposal whether you prefer to deliver a virtual or in-person presentation.
Registration is free for all participants and presenters in 2021. MHLIC may have limited funds to cover hotel or travel for presenters, but will not be able to guarantee this until closer to the meeting date.
Workshop proposals will be reviewed for inclusion in the Symposium based on strength of the following factors:
- Applicability of the topic to maternal health
- Quality of session content
- Balance of topics on Symposium agenda
- Incorporation of equity considerations in presentation
Example topics are listed below:
Community and/or clinical engagement
- Power sharing and integrating the voice of lived experience into all work
- Engagement with partners/ fathers/ companions
- Considerations for specific populations including indigenous, Latinx, incarcerated people, rural, LGBTQI, and birthing people of various ages
- Recruiting and supporting health care providers of color / bilingual providers / LGBTQ+ providers
- Effective cross-disciplinary collaboration to improve systems of care and maternal health outcomes
- Patient and provider education and action related to maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity
Policy
- Federal, state, and local policy solutions that address maternal health
- Maternal health in all policies
- Policies to address maternity care workforce shortages and turnover
Innovation
- Innovations to promote more respectful, quality perinatal care
- Integrating social determinants of health resources into care
- Transforming and sustaining clinical care practices
- Innovations in postpartum care
- Use of data in designing and implementing innovative and evidence-informed strategies
- Data collection and evaluation of practices or programs
- Maternal telehealth and telemedicine strategies
Special Topics
- Maternal mental health
- Effects of COVID-19 on maternal health
- Trauma informed approaches to pandemic recovery
- State maternal mortality review committees
- Environmental health and maternal outcomes
Spark Sessions
The Symposium will include pre-recorded “Spark Sessions” featuring innovative practices, programs, or policies designed to improve maternal health.
Spark Sessions are short (maximum 10 minutes), pre-recorded presentations about work being developed or implemented to improve maternal health. The goal of this part of the Symposium agenda is to elevate innovations from across the country.
Spark Sessions will be hosted on the virtual platform and the MHLIC website. Spark Session presenters do not have to be present during the Symposium event.
What is considered innovative in maternal health?
- An innovation could be:
- A new program implemented to reduce barriers to care or services
- An existing program designed with a modification to better serve a specific target population
- A program that has been in existence for years that is helping improve maternal outcomes but hasn’t been widely adopted
- A new way of doing your work to adjust to COVID-19 or other timely issues
- Innovative practices may occur at many levels (individual, interpersonal, neighborhood, community, social networks, institutional, policy).
We want to feature innovations that seek to improve systems of care or maternal health outcomes. We also understand that some initiatives may be in their early phases. We want to hear from you about why you think this innovation is a success—or has potential for success.
Spark session proposals will be reviewed for inclusion in the Symposium based on strength of the following factors:
- Applicability of topic to maternal health
- Presentation introduces new ideas or way of thinking that has potential to effect other maternal health work
- Ability to describe innovation within the ten-minute maximum time
Examples of Topics for Workshops and Spark Sessions: For examples of Spark Sessions, please view the 2021 sessions here.
Timeline and Process
Proposals Due: June 11 at 11:59 PM EST
Notification of Decision: June 22, 2021
Workshop Details Due: July 16, 2021
Final Spark Session Presentations Due: July 31, 2021
Proposal Questions (will be submitted in Qualtrics form)
Questions for Both Spark Sessions & Workshops
- Name of Organization (s):
- Organization Website or Social Media Links:
- Geographic Area Served:
- Name of Contact (you may have multiple presenters, but please include one main contact):
- Email:
- Phone:
- Is your work compliant with the World Health Organization Code for Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes? (Yes, No, N/A, Unsure)
- Do you have any relevant financial relationships with commercial interests whose products or services will be described in this proposal? (Yes, No, Unsure)
- If yes, please disclose the name of the organization(s) with which you have this relationship and the nature of your relationship.
- Type of proposal:
- Spark Session Only
- Workshop Only
- Open to consideration for either Spark Session or Workshop
If you are submitting separate ideas for a Workshop and Spark Session, or submitting multiple proposals, please use separate forms for each idea.
For Workshop Proposals Only
- Proposed title of session:
- Short session description (200 word maximum):
- Presenters & affiliation (list up to 4; substitutions can be made at a later date):
- Please briefly describe each presenter’s knowledge or experience related to maternal health (200 words maximum)
- Learning Outcomes. Please list 3-4 learning outcomes. Learning outcomes must begin with one of the following words: Analyze, Assess, Compare, Define, Demonstrate, Describe, Design, Differentiate, Discuss, Evaluate, Explain, Formulate, Identify, List or Name. (for example, After this workshop, participants will be able to: List 3 effective techniques for collecting community feedback.)
- Session Length: Choices: 30 minutes, 60 minutes, either
- Please describe how you will include discussion of equity in the presentation (200 words maximum)
- Please describe the presentation’s importance/relevance to improving maternal health outcomes (100 words maximum)
- MHLIC is planning a hybrid Symposium for 2021 which consists of virtual presentations delivered through a virtual platform and in-person sessions in Baltimore. At this point, how do you plan on participating in the 2021 Symposium? If your proposal is accepted, you will have a chance to confirm your preference. Choices: Virtual, In-person, No preference
- Has this proposal been featured at other national conference(s)? Choices: Yes, No, It’s been submitted for consideration, Other
- If your proposal is not selected for the August 2021 Symposium, are you open to sharing your work in other formats through the MHLIC (this may include blog posts, webinars, having materials featured on MHLIC website)? Choices: Yes, No, I don’t know
- If your presentation is recorded, will you consent to having your presentation displayed on the MHLIC website for the foreseeable future (with appropriate credits given to you)? (Yes, No, Would like additional information)
- Please share any additional information here.
For Spark Sessions Only
- Proposed title of session:
- Briefly describe the innovative practice, program, or policy you would like to discuss (200 word maximum):
- Briefly tell us about the specific maternal health challenge or problem you are addressing with this innovation (200 word maximum):
- How does your innovation support equity (200 word maximum)?
- What is your current stage of implementation?
– Planning, with no implementation date determined
– Planning, with implementation expected in the next six months
– Active, started in last six months
– Active, have been doing this for more than six months
– Completed, this innovation has been implemented but is not ongoing
– Other: - How are you defining success with your innovation (200 word maximum)?
- What presentation format would fit best? Please select any format.
– Video (submitted as an MP4)
– Recorded Presentation no Visuals (submitted as an MP3)
– Poster or other static visual (submitted as a PDF)
– Other: - Can you commit to having presentation content finalized by July 31, 2021? Y/N
- Would you be interested in participating in a live discussion session with other Spark Session presenters with similar innovations or other presentation opportunities through the Maternal Health Learning and Innovation Center (MHLIC)? Y/N
- If your innovation is not selected for being shared during the August 2021 Symposium, are you open to sharing your work in other formats through the MHLIC (this may include blog posts, webinars, having materials featured on MHLIC website)? Y/N
- Please share any additional information here.