Call for Proposals Is Closed

IM4US is an organization working and advocating for integrative healthcare that is inclusive, anti-racist, accessible, and culturally-relevant to underserved communities.  IM4US welcomes voices unheard in integrative health. We encourage proposals from BIPOC, LGBTQ,  a wide range of healthcare practitioners, and unaffiliated or marginalized scholars. 

Proposals Due: May 31, 2022

Submission Review: June 3-26, 2022

Selection Notification: June 28, 2022

Decolonizing Medicine: Centering and Rebuilding Grounded Approaches to Healthcare

Recognizing the value of a diversity of health and healthcare practices, IM4US continues to explore what it could mean to decolonize medicine by changing systems, institutions and communities. Centering ancient, indigenous, and traditional practices invites us to reconsider the way we approach the idea of wholeness and reimagine how healthcare can support people and our environments. This year’s conference will highlight efforts to address the needs of individuals, families, communities and the planet while integrating physical, mental/emotional and spiritual wellbeing for all.

We invite you to share your work and learn from others about the following topics as well as other clinical, research and policy tools related to equity and inclusivity in integrative healthcare: 

• Decolonizing healthcare in North America and around the world

• Sharing real-world success stories and tools for anti-racist and re-Indigenizing strategies to address social and structural determinants of health

• Models of care that integrate cultural humility, cultural safety, and a trauma-informed approach 

• Elevating traditional and indigenous healing practices 

• Transforming cultural misappropriation in integrative health and supporting efforts to collaborate without co-opting

• Integrative health research including work that expands the definition of what constitutes as “evidence”

• Topics centered around food, environment, and what it means to heal the planet and our communities 

• Welcoming and integrating ceremony into healthcare and healing

We look forward to hearing from, supporting, and growing our community of healers and changemakers and invite you to participate whether you are new to IM4US or a longtime member. We are excited to welcome you to our 2022 virtual conference. 

Please read the guidelines below BEFORE starting your proposal. You will be asked to confirm that you have read and agreed to the following terms during the proposal process.

Proposal Guidelines

• No more than two proposals per primary presenter, please. However, primary presenters are permitted to serve as co-presenters on others' proposals.
• The deadline to submit proposals is 11:59 PM EDT on May 31, 2022.
• Late proposals will not be reviewed.
• It is strongly encouraged that you submit your proposal a few days before the deadline in case you need technical help or have questions.
• You must submit your proposal in one sitting. Partial proposals will not be saved in our system. Please review the proposal requirements prior to beginning your proposal.

Proposal Requirements:

• Session or Poster Title: 8-10 words that describe the topic of your presentation or poster.
• Session Description: One (1) paragraph describing your topic in detail, including how your session will benefit participants. Describe what knowledge, skills, or abilities attendees will gain as a result of participating in your session and/or what actionable takeaways they can use in their daily lives.
• Session Outline: Provide a brief session outline and indicate the time allotted for each topic/section of your presentation. For breakout and workshop sessions, please allow time for Q&A.
• Delivery Method: In an effort to provide educational sessions that align with adult-learning best practices, please indicate the instructional method(s) you will use during your presentation. This includes: case studies, lecture, discussions, panels, etc.
• Learning Objectives: A minimum of three (3) learning objectives that describe what participants will be able to do as a result of participating in your session. Learning objectives should be measurable. Click here for learner objective guidelines. 
• Relation to Theme: Describe how your session/poster aligns with this year's conference theme: Decolonizing Medicine: Centering and Rebuilding Grounded Approaches to Healthcare.

Review Process:

All proposals are reviewed by two peers and are scored based on:

• Whether the proposal addresses the conference theme
• How the proposal embodies Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
• An alignment with the IM4US mission

Notification of Selection:

If your proposal is selected:

• You will receive an acceptance email notification by June 28, 2022. 
• The acceptance notification will include the title of the accepted proposal, the day and time of your presentation, instructions for accepting the offer to present, and any other additional information.
• The primary presenter will be asked to formally accept the offer to present by the deadline listed in the acceptance notification.
• Due to the high volume of applications we receive, if we do not receive the formal acceptance to present by the deadline, we will extend the offer to another presenter.

If you need to cancel your presentation, please alert IM4US (conference@im4us.org) right away so that we may select another presenter, time permitting.

If your proposal is not selected:

• You will be notified by June 28, 2022.
• Please note that many quality proposals are turned away each year due to the high volume of proposals we receive. If your proposal is not selected this year, we hope you'll apply again next year!

General:

We strive to include as many proposals as possible, however, no more than two proposals may be submitted by primary presenters. We do our best to select as many presentations as possible by employing creative scheduling techniques, joining presentations into one session, assembling panels, and giving those whose applications were not chosen an opportunity to submit a poster.

Additional Information:

Presenters will need to create a profile that includes a photo and bio to share with our attendees. The information may appear on our website, marketing emails, social media, and conference mobile app.

Unforeseen circumstances can impact the conference schedule and therefore alter the date and time of presentations. If selected, we will notify you by email if we need to change the day or time of your session.

Download Call for Proposals Worksheet - Use this document to prepare your proposal before entering it into our system.