Breakout sessions

Challenges and opportunities for agriculture in the 21st century in the face of climate extremes

Agriculture is intrinsically connected to regional climate, yet in the face of ongoing and future climate extremes, challenges emerge in maintaining productivity and a sustainable balance among the environment and economy. This interactive workshop will provide interdisciplinary information applicable to issues society is expected to face in the coming century. Case studies will link planetary health and climate change, and groups will apply solutions-focused thinking to create adaptation pathways across themes, regions, and food systems.

Presented by:
Jennifer Vanos, UC San Diego
Woutrina Smith, UC Davis
Federico Castillo, UC Berkeley

Located in:
Ballroom West

Teaching ethics in global health

This session will summarize the literature surrounding GH ethics, share teaching models, and address the relationship between teaching ethics, cultural humility, and structural competency. We will actively engage participants by soliciting examples of ethical conundrums and the consequences of moral distress. In addition, we will share specific resources and best practices for managing moral distress in our learners. The breakout format will include a combination of presentations, case reviews, and small and large groups discussion.

Presented by:
Madhavi Dandu, UCSF
Alden Blair, UCSF

Located in:
Bear Room

Developing international partnerships for collaborative gender equity research and policymaking in India

This breakout session highlights research from International partnerships of the UCSD School of Medicine's Center on Gender Equity and Health on issues of gender equity and health, including impact-driven, collaborative dissemination, and maintenance of equitable and mutually beneficial relationships. It provides an opportunity to learn about how building and leveraging strategic partnerships can push the frontier of gender equity and health research, and serve to improve the “take-up” of research by directly informing policymaking.

Presented by:
Amruta Trivedi, UC San Diego
Anita Raj, UC San Diego
Jennifer Yore, UC San Diego

Located in:
Earl Warren College Room

Adapting the Addressing Reproductive Coercion in Health Settings (ARCHES) intervention from the US context to Bangladesh, Kenya and Mexico

This session will share the efforts by researchers at UCSD's Center on Gender Equity and Health to adapt and assess the Addressing Reproductive Coercion in Health Settings (ARCHES) model in Bangladesh, Kenya, and Mexico, in collaboration with local health organizations. These studies aim to provide evidence for health systems in low and middle-income countries to implement the ARCHES intervention, with the ultimate goal of improving the health of vulnerable family planning clients experiencing reproductive coercion.

Presented by:
Ruvani W Fonseka, UC San Diego
Jasmine Uysal, UC San Diego
Argentina E Servin, UC San Diego

Located in:
Eleanor Roosevelt College Room

Local and international research on neurotoxicity of pesticides in children and adults living in rural populations: Pedro Moncayo County, Ecuador and Imperial County, CA

Certain pesticides have been found to increase the risk of Parkinson disease (PD) in adults, or decrease cognitive/neurobehavioral abilities of children. We will discuss our longitudinal NIH-funded projects in Ecuador about pesticide exposures in relation to child/adolescent development and mental health (ESPINA study). We will also discuss our ongoing pilot study in the agricultural Imperial County, CA, investigating associations between exposures to commonly applied pesticides and parkinsonian signs and symptoms among 55-70 year-old Latino residents.

Presented by:
Jose Ricardo Suarez, UC San Diego
Harvey Checkoway, UC San Diego

Located in:
Governance Chambers

Complications and contradictions in community-based participatory research: An interactive panel discussion

This session will begin with a brief introduction to theories in social medicine that inform community-based participatory research. Participants will have the opportunity to apply these concepts during a simulated community meeting. Teams will be assigned various roles and engage with the complex issues surrounding a controversial NGO-directed health intervention. The session will end with a discussion of the unexpected tensions that may arise in CBPR and the ethical dilemmas such tensions may create.

Presented by:
Morgen A Chalmiers, UC San Diego
Griffin A Tyree, UC San Diego
Naeemah Munir, UC San Diego

Located in:
Green Table Room

Immigration policy as a social determinant of health: From national policy to local implications for immigrant health

The rise in prominence and vehemence of anti-immigrant political sentiments promises to worsen health and threaten the lives of immigrants and populations of color more broadly. This session will provide a vital discussion of how the U.S. immigration policy environment is affecting health nationally and locally. We begin with an overview of how health disparities widen in an anti-immigrant political environment, then provide specific examples of how national policies are affecting immigrant communities in California.

Presented by:
Brittany N Morey, UC Riverside
Andrea Lopez, UC Merced
Dinorah Lillie Sanchez, UC San Diego

Located in:
John Muir Room

Real world challenges of health programs incorporating women’s empowerment or masculinities components

To promote gender equity, some health programs incorporate female empowerment or male engagement components. However, because they often avoid confronting traditional patriarchal norms and institutions, these programs do not necessarily create the conditions for critical consciousness and gender transformation. In this interactive session, we will examine three ongoing empowerment or masculinity programs--in South Africa, Nigeria and Rwanda--which are facing major challenges. Then we will brainstorm with the audience on how to increase their societal impact.

Presented by:
Paula Tavrow, UCLA
Dallas Swendeman, UCLA
Ndola Prata, UC Berkeley

Located in:
Red Shoe Room

Promoting mental health for global youth

This panel will discuss multidisciplinary social sciences, neurosciences, mobile technology and psychiatric research approaches to address mental health in adolescents affected by adversity in diverse, global low-resource settings. The presentations will highlight the importance of including parents, teachers and service providers along with the youth in the research, to promote mental health of these adolescents.

Presented by:
Jyoti Mishra, UC San Diego
Janis H Jenkins, UC San Diego
David Grelotti, UC San Diego

Located in:
Thurgood Marshall College Room

The global public health importance of preventing campus-based sexual assault and dating violence

Sexual assault (SA) is pervasive on college/university campuses worldwide, and associated with many negative health outcomes. Student survivors tend to have lower grade point averages and are more likely to transfer or drop out of school altogether, relative to students not assaulted. During this discussion we will review global prevalence of SA on campuses, discuss a public health approach to prevention and identify challenges and solutions for measuring and addressing campus-based violence.

Presented by:
Jennifer Wagman, UC San Diego
Rebecca Fielding-Miller, UC San Diego
Nancy Wahlig, UC San Diego

Located in:
Ballroom West

Rapid population growth and climate change in the Sahel: what is the role of women's empowerment? What can be done to lessen the impacts on health?

The Sahel is subject to uniquely rapid population growth - putting pressure on scarce resources. The challenge to meet the basic needs of a rapidly growing population is compounded by the impacts of climate change. This session examines the implications of a business as usual scenario versus what is achievable with major investments in empowering girls and women and agriculture. Participants will brainstorm opportunities for multidisciplinary solutions, including family planning and food security.

Presented by:
Alisha Graves, UC Berkeley
David Lopez-Carr, UC Santa Barbara

Located in:
Bear Room

Building and maintaining global research networks for physical activity: Lessons learned and opportunities for collaboration

UC San Diego faculty have been leaders in organizing global research collaborations around physical activity and health, notably the IPEN and GUIA studies, Lancet Series on Physical Activity and Global Health, and the Global Observatory for Physical Activity (GoPA!). In this session we review how this happened and look towards building future collaborations across the UC System and world.

Presented by:
Michael Pratt, UC San Diego
Jim Sallis, UC San Diego
Elva Arredondo, UC San Diego

Located in:
Earl Warren College Room

Adolescent pregnancy and healthcare in context: a bi-national case study

Through this interactive workshop, participants will use a case study of a bi-national project in California and Mexico to explore the healthcare experiences of pregnant and parenting adolescents, their access to contraception and information, and the role of migration in their families and communities. Splitting into small groups, we will develop recommendations for healthcare providers, community-based organizations, and policymakers in California and Mexico.

Presented by:
Mara J Decker, UCSF
Felipe Rodriguez, UCSF
Noelle Pineda, UC Berkeley

Located in:
Eleanor Roosevelt College Room

Of two worlds: How can non-research trainees work with research faculty to advance global health?

Trainees may face challenges pitching their non-research skills and career goals to research faculty. Conversely, research faculty may not know how to integrate trainees in their research programs, turning down motivated students. In this interactive session, we will address this challenge from the perspectives of both the faculty and the trainees by using cases from UCSF’s Fellowship in Global Mental Health, which builds on a research infrastructure in rural Nepal to incorporate non-research trainees.

Presented by:
Bibhav Acharya, UCSF
Pragya Rimal, UCSF
Viet Nguyen, UCSF

Located in:
Governance Chambers

One health in action: The global health security agenda

This session will walk attendees through a brief overview of what the GHSA is and how the USAID/PREDICT project engages with the GHSA and One Health Platforms nationally and globally. Participants will have an opportunity to work in breakout groups, representing various stakeholder groups while they move through an exercise designed to stimulate thought on how such a platform might prioritize zoonotic diseases in any given country.

Presented by:
David Wolking, UC Davis
Jennifer Lane, UC Davis
Brian Bird, UC Davis

Located in:
Green Table Room

Collaborating for health equity in the Americas

Throughout the Americas, health inequities persist at alarming rates. An intersectoral Network has emerged to identify and implement policy and program solutions to promote health equity in the Americas. This session will explore the processes and strategies used to engage this Network of leaders in a collaborative way. Session participants will work in 2 groups to discuss policies/programs affecting two Network focus areas: 1) protections against discrimination; and 2) gender equality legislation and policies.

Presented by:
Michael Rodriguez, UCLA
Jody Heymann, UCLA

Located in:
John Muir Room

Building health justice in underserved communities: local answers to global questions

A key to addressing health disparities is developing a refined understanding of how local communities define health, where they locate the roots of good health, and how they use embodied knowledges to determine appropriate pathways to health equity. We bring together case studies demonstrating the diversity of health justice work centered on local communities’ frameworks and expressed needs, opening discussion about the important distinctions marginalized communities make when addressing health disparities most meaningful to them.

Presented by:
Sarah Wikle, UC Santa Cruz
Theresa Atanoa, UC Santa Cruz
Cierra Sherman, UC Santa Cruz

Located in:
Red Shoe Room

Exploring improvements to the health-related United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals: An interactive workshop

The UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is a 21st century governance framework to advance sustainable human development. SDG Goal 3 specifically focuses on improving human health. This student-led breakout session will critically examine the SDGs through an interactive workshop design where attendees will collaboratively work on policy approaches to enhance SDG health-related targets and indicators. Session attendees will breakout into groups with workshop instructions and also present their proposals which will be voted on electronically.

Presented by:
Timothy K Mackey, UC San Diego
William Tuon, UC San Diego
Alexis Burnstan, UC San Diego

Located in:
Thurgood Marshall College Room