Call for Abstracts for the ACU 2025 Annual Conference: The Power of Advocacy and the Promise of Primary Care

A list of all possible topics is available below.  Presenters can select up to three topics for each submission.   

• Allied Care Teams: Strategies to recruit, retain, and/or integrate allied health professionals into care teams.  
• Becoming an Employer of Choice: Examining and applying best practices, lessons learned, and/or research findings to recruit and retain a thriving healthcare workforce.
• Clinical Practice: Examining the emerging science and delivery of clinical medicine. 
• Community Engagement & Partnerships: Building supportive relationships within the community to better address patient needs. 
• Emergency Preparedness: Strategies, best practices, and lessons learned for preparing for and responding to disasters.  
• Innovative Uses of Technology: Leveraging technology in new ways to improve care delivery.
• Leadership: Engaging leaders at all levels to drive results within health and health care.
• Mental & Behavioral Health: Addressing mental and behavioral health issues within the health center and community.
• Oral Health: Strategies to integrate oral health services into healthcare in underserved communities.
• Policy and Advocacy: Achieving change through legislation and grassroots advocacy.
• Quality Improvement: Applying concepts and tools of improvement science to drive meaningful and far-reaching change.
• Research & Clinical Trials: Increasing health center and staff capacity to engage in the design, implementation, and analysis of research and/or clinical trials.
• Value, Cost, and Quality: Employing strategies to thrive in a value-based care environment.
• Vision Services: Starting up, expanding, and integrating vision services into primary care.

Guidance is included for each topic area to indicate the desired focus and potential content directions. Please include specific details of your approach and outcomes to address the topic in your abstract.

• Track 1: Improving Clinical Care:  Sessions in this track will focus on interdisciplinary medical education; innovative care models that improve patient outcomes, communication, efficiency, and staff satisfaction;  and/or individual skills necessary for delivering health care in underserved communities.
  • Mental Health/Behavioral Health
    • Single abstract for a 60-minute session
    • Potential areas of exploration include:
      • Case studies in sustainability/scaling of successful models
      • Maternal mental health
      • Strategies for reducing stigma around accessing services
  • Leading and Communicating
    • Single abstract for a 60-minute session
    • Potential areas of exploration include:
      • Self-advocacy
      • Effective cross-team communication
  • Maternal-Child Health
    • Single abstract for a 60-minute session
    • Potential areas of exploration include:
      • Key considerations for developing effective interventions for improving maternal and child health
      • Supporting positive pregnancy outcomes.
        • • Collaboration strategies for pediatric and maternal health professionals to improve care for both parents and children.
  • Vision: Co-Managing Chronic Conditions with Optometrists
    • Single abstract for a 60-minute session
    • Potential areas of exploration include:
      • The role of optometrists in managing chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease.
      • Effective models for collaboration between primary care providers and optometrists to improve patient outcomes.
      • Best practices for integrating vision care into chronic disease management programs at FQHCs

• Track 2: Promoting Workforce Well-being and Improving Patient Safety*: Sessions will focus on disseminating research findings or evidenced tools/resources related to advancing workforce well-being and improving patient safety.

• • Data-Driven Approaches to Promoting Well-Being in the Health Center Workplace

• • • Panel format: Up to 3 abstracts (15-20 min each) will be accepted for this 60-minute session
    • Potential areas of exploration include:
      • How data-driven approaches can improve workforce well-being in health centers.
      • Strategies for fostering a positive workplace environment and a workplace that supports resilience to enhance employee engagement and retention.
  • Approaches to Improving Well-Being for Healthcare Learners in Educational and Clinical Settings
    • Panel format: Up to 3 abstracts (15-20 min each) will be accepted for this 60-minute session 
    • Potential areas of exploration include:
      • Strategies for promoting the mental and physical well-being of healthcare learners, including students, residents, and trainees.
      • Examples of partnerships between academic institutions and clinical settings can improve learner well-being.
      • Evidence-based models for supporting learners in both educational and clinical environments.

• • Human-Centered Design to Reduce Administrative Burden in Health Centers
    • Panel format: Up to 3 abstracts (15-20 min each) will be accepted for this 60-minute session
    • Potential areas of exploration include:
      • Best practices for simplifying workflows and minimizing time-consuming administrative work.
      • Data on how reducing administrative burden positively impacts staff well-being, job satisfaction, and patient care.
      • The principles of human-centered design, its process, and how to apply it to healthcare organizations.
  • Leveraging Technology to Support Workforce Well-Being: AI, Telehealth, and More
    • Panel format: Up to 3 abstracts (15-20 min each) will be accepted for this 60-minute session
    • Potential areas of exploration include:
      • The role of technology, including AI and telehealth, in supporting workforce well-being and reducing stress.
      • Examples of how healthcare settings can leverage digital tools to improve employee efficiency and work-life balance.
      • Data showing the positive impact of technology on reducing burnout and enhancing job satisfaction.
  • Eliminating Barriers to Mental Health Support: Reducing Stigma and Enhancing Access for Healthcare Workers 
    • Panel format: Up to 3 abstracts (15-20 min each) will be accepted for this 60-minute session
    • Potential areas of exploration include:
      • Impact of stigma surrounding mental health on support seeking from staff
      • Impact of reducing stigma and increasing access to mental health resources on overall well-being for healthcare workers, supported by data.

• Track 3: Policy, Advocacy, and Partnership: Sessions in this track will focus on raising awareness of current policy and advocacy priorities; developing advocacy skills; and/or educating on partnerships that support underserved communities.
  • Advocacy for the National Health Service Corps (NHSC)
    • Single abstract for a 60-minute session
    • Potential areas of exploration include:
      • The role of the NHSC in addressing healthcare workforce shortages in underserved communities.
      • Approaches to help educate and empower advocates to speak effectively about the benefits of NHSC.
      • Strategies for advocacy that can drive policy change and increase support for the NHSC.
  • Building Advocacy Skills: How to Get Involved at the State or Local Level
    • Panel format: Up to 3 abstracts (15-20 min each) will be accepted for this 60-minute session
    • Potential areas of exploration include:
      • Opportunities to engage in advocacy at the state and local levels
      • Inspiring stories from individuals and organizations that have successfully advocated for change at these levels.
      • Practical steps for building effective advocacy campaigns, from grassroots mobilization to legislative action
  • Coalition Building to Advance to Quality, Patient-Centered Care
    • Panel format: Up to 3 abstracts (15-20 min each) will be accepted for this 60-minute session
    • Potential areas of exploration include:
      • The essential steps for building and sustaining coalitions
      • Coalition-building examples from diverse sectors, including mental/behavioral health, maternal and child health, vision services, or others.
      • Key elements of coalition success, from aligning goals to effective communication and collaboration.
  • Emergency Preparedness: How Health Centers Can Make a Difference
    • Single abstract for a 60-minute session
    • Potential areas of exploration include:
      • Health centers’ role in preparing and responding to disasters.
      • Best practices and strategies for responding to and preparing for different types of emergencies and disasters.  
      • Advocacy related to emergency preparedness

• Open submissions

• • Single abstract for a 60-minute session
  • These sessions do not fit into the pre-defined tracks and topic areas above.  All abstracts are welcome that meet the selection criteria below; however, there are limited spots available for open submissions

*Note: All educational sessions that wish to be considered for Track 2: Promoting Workforce Well-being and Improving Patient Safety must disseminate research findings and/or evidence-based tools and resources that healthcare organizations can use to address workload and job demands, control and flexibility, social support and community at work, work-life integration, meaning in work, efficiency and resources, or organizational values. Additionally, the presentation must include and be aligned with the conceptual framework used in HRSA’s Workforce Wellness Initiative. See page 7 of this document. 

Continuing Education: Speaker/Presenter Form

All speakers/presenters will be required to disclose any relevant financial disclosures, upload a CV/resume, and provide a bio and headshot via this form. Abstracts will not be considered complete unless all speakers/presenters listed in the application have completed the form.

Selection Criteria

Submissions will be reviewed by a panel of experts and scored using the criteria below. Abstracts should attempt to meet at least 4 of the 6 criteria below:

• Addresses a current issue, important problem, or a barrier to accessing care
• Makes a lasting change or recommends a sustainable practice
• Is well-supported by evidence or presents the results of well-designed, innovative research
• Recommends an effective, innovative option for addressing an issue
• Can be implemented by other organizations/providers 
• Aligns with the conference theme by advancing and/or advocating for quality, patient-centered care