National stakeholders and conference attendees from the last six conferences have recommended the topics listed below for priority consideration at the 2010 Conference. You may also use the 2008 conference agenda and abstracts as a guide for the range of topics and formats we will consider when reviewing proposals. This list is not intended to be exhaustive, but can be used by potential speakers to guide their submissions to our Call for Proposals.
Language access
- Interpreting roles, proficiency assessments, standards, certification
- Interpretation reimbursement
- Regional collaborations for interpreter services
- Use of technology in delivering and managing interpreter services
- Health Literacy
Cultural competence training and staff development
- Staff motivation and institutional support for cultural competence practice and training
- CC curricula and ‘short’ continuing education activities
- Leadership training for CC staff
- Effectiveness research and data on training
- Standards for CC trainers and content
The culturally competent organization
- How to get started, readiness assessments, how to prioritize CLAS activities
- How to integrate cultural competence and quality improvement efforts
- Organizational change and measurement tools
- Meaningful consumer involvement in organizational planning, design and evaluation
Culturally appropriate care
- Case studies of cultural care models with links to quality outcomes
- Addressing disparities through the medical home model
- Empowering patients in clinical encounters and health system navigation
- Role of patient-provider race/ethnicity matching
- Community health workers and navigators – program design and financing
- Addressing social determinants: structural, environmental, community factors related to health Population-specific topics (specific ethnic groups, new refugee groups, undocumented immigrants, elders, etc.)
- Clinical sessions for clinicians
- Mental health
Research
- NIH-based or other funded research into the efficacy of cultural competence interventions generally or for specific conditions or groups of conditions (e.g., chronic disease)
- Research to investigate, document, and create an evidence-base for interventions to address the health care needs of racially and ethnically diverse patients
- Language, disparities reduction or cultural competence-related community based participatory research (CBPR) focused on one or more racially/ethnically diverse populations
- Research at the juncture of health literacy and limited English proficiency/language for racially/ethnically diverse populations
- Social determinants affecting racially and ethnically diverse communities: identifying impact and actions for improvement
- Prevention-based research that integrates cultural competence and language assistance into health related programs and interventions
- Reviews of current state and local cultural competence/disparities reduction or language assistance innovations as they may inform initiatives in health care reform legislation.
Policy
- How to reconcile standards with institutional budget challenges
- State efforts implementing CLAS
- Model Title VI policies and assessment tools
- Managed care contract provisions for CLAS
- QI consults for attendees – how to set-up and measure disparity/QI programs
Other
- Innovative uses of technology and health 2.0 strategies
- Addressing racism
- Issues faced by professionals and institutions in suburban and rural communities with newly diverse populations
- Diversity in senior centers, community aging programs, and hospice programs
- Effect of the emergence of health information technology (HIT) as a strategy to improve quality and cost-effectiveness of health care on racial and ethnic minority groups