Join Us button Facebook button

SEED Symposium

DATES | SCHEDULE | PRESENTERS | CONTINUING ED. | BOOKLET ADS | VENUE & LODGING | GLOSSARY | REPORT | HIGHLIGHTS | CONTACT


SEED Symposium photosSymposium Wrap-Up Overview

The 2015 Synthesis Engagement and Elevation to Eliminate Disparities (SEED) Symposium held on June 11-12, 2015 far exceeded expectations! More than 100 participants from 11 states across the U.S. (Alaska, Connecticut, DC, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, and Vermont) participated in the symposium. Participants included academic researchers and professors, health policy makers, community leaders, administrators, physicians, caregivers, and high school, undergraduate and graduate students.
 
Because of the insight provided by speakers, artists and attendees, we achieved our goal to impact the way health equity is being talked about and cultivate a space for learning, sharing and inspiring.  #SEEDSym2015 had many high points. Please read a brief report on the symposium. Also, enjoy the pictures, videos and graphic arts that captured our collective energy and work during #SEEDSym2015. Feel free to share additional thoughts using social media:
 
@UMassDiversity
https://twitter.com/UMassDiversity
https://www.facebook.com/UMassCHEIR
 
Thank you to all who attended and all who made it possible. We look forward to seeing you and many others at the next SEED Symposium in 2017!
 
About the UMass Center for Health Equity Intervention Research:
 
In 2012, CHEIR was established with a five year grant from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD). CHEIR's overarching mission is to develop interventions and strategies that incorporate research, community collaboration and health equity approaches to improve the health of populations and communities most impacted by disparities. What is unique to CHEIR is our focus on narrative-based interventions. Central to our work is the use of storytelling as a tool to build research literacy and promote behavior change. Our experience includes integrating storytelling methodologies across disciplines, developing measurement tools and facilitating processes to engage the population. This is reflected in three R01-level projects and four cores - Administrative, Education & Training, Community Engagement and Research. We are proud to bring together two campuses of the University of Massachusetts: UMass Worcester and UMass Boston. CHEIR researchers from these two campuses synergistically combine their expertise in the areas of public health, medicine, psychology, nursing, cultural anthropology, sociology, biostatistics and informatics.
 
CHEIR is supported by the National Institute of Minority Health And Health Disparities of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number P60MD006912.

» CLICK HERE to view/download the SEED Symposium Program Book
 

SEED Symposium 2015Hashtag: #SEEDSym2015

Six words describing the SEED Symposium:
Transformative thinking leading to impactful doing
 
The Synthesis Engagement and Elevation to Eliminate Disparities (SEED) Symposium is a national conference that will use cutting-edge approaches to generate new findings and resources to eliminate health disparities. Sponsored by the UMass Center for Health Equity Intervention Research (CHEIR), the themes for the Symposium are rooted in CHEIR's overall approach to achieving health equity: multidisciplinary focus, multiple levels of intervention, culturally-responsive practices, and the use of storytelling as a research tool.
 
The SEED Symposium is not a typical, national research conference! Instead of poster sessions we will have the SEED Collections, a display of health equity projects using technology and thought-provoking conversation areas. Instead of oral presentations, we will have SEED Talks, inspiring stories with surprising and significant outcomes that integrate the science and practice of health equity research. Participants will be uplifted with a visual showcase demonstrating the arts and its deep connection to our work in health equity. Our featured keynote will be thought leader, Dr. Camara Jones and our moderator, Dr. Mark Nivet will support us to bring together the pressing issues and solutions shared by the speakers and by YOU! Our goal is to impact the way health equity is being talked about and cultivate a space for learning, sharing and inspiring.
 
The overarching goal of the day-and-a-half-long symposium is to create dialogue on the conceptual areas related to the health equity research agenda:
  • Exploring narrative-based interventions that target health behavior change for prevention and management of chronic conditions;
  • Engaging researchers, patients and communities in changing the conditions that impede health; and
  • Engaging patients and communities to participate in research to identify evidence-based practices that improve health outcomes.
We hope to see you in June!
 
Deborah L. Plummer, PhD, MEd and Chioma Nnaji, MPH, MEd
SEED Symposium Curators
 

 
Copyright © 2011 - 2023 The UMass Center for Health Equity Intervention Research (CHEIR). All rights reserved.