Health Equity Summit

WMed Health Equity Summit 2023
The theme of the 2023 WMed Health Equity Summit was women's health equity.

The 6th Annual Health Equity Summit was held on Friday, October 13, 2023, at the W.E. Upjohn M.D. Campus. The summit's theme focused on women's health equity.

The summit is a joint collaboration with the Western Michigan University Office of Diversity and Inclusion, the Kalamazoo College Office of Diversity, and the Kalamazoo Valley Community College Office of Diversity and Inclusion.

The event also included two phenomenal keynote speakers - Drs. Marjorie Jenkins and Margaret Larkins-Pettigrew. Videos of their full presentations can be viewed below. There were also informative workshop presentations, and a poster showcase session.

The program featured projects and presentations that involved work focused on women in the areas of clinical health care, curriculum and educational projects, community collaborations and initiatives, and quality improvement, with the overall goal of promoting health equity and women’s health through community partnerships and advocacy.

WMed Health Equity Summit 2023
The 2023 WMed Health Equity Summit featured a research poster showcase.

More Information

  • Keynote Speakers
    Morning Keynote Address: "Why Women Aren't Winning at Health"
    Marjorie Jenkins, MD, MEdHP, FACP
    9:45-10:45 a.m.
    Marjorie Jenkins, MD, MEdHP, FACP
    Marjorie Jenkins, MD, MEdHP, FACP

    Dr. Marjorie R. Jenkins serves as the associate provost at the University of South Carolina (USC),dean and professor of internal medicine of the USCSchool of Medicine Greenville (USCSOMG), and chief academic officer for Prisma Health-Upstate,which is the largest integrated health system in South Carolina.

    Prior to joining USC in 2019, Dr. Jenkins was a tenured professor of medicine and associate dean at Texas TechUniversity Health Sciences Center and founder and chief scientific officer of the Laura W. Bush Institute for Women's education. By invitation of the U.S. FDA, she served from 2015 to 2019 as the director of medical andscientific initiatives for the Office of Women's Health, working in the area of sex and gender health policy and research.

    Dr Jenkins is a well-recognized expert in women's health and sex and gender-based medicine. During her career, she has developed a sex and gender women’s health fellowship program, launched the first annual US Sex and Gender Education Summit in 2018, which is ongoing and spans multiple disciplines, served as a consultant for the NASA sex and gender decadal review, is a founding member of the Sex and Gender Women’s Health Collaborative, and performed expert advisory roles within NIH and HRSA.

    Dr Jenkins is a global leader in the integration of sex and gender into health professionals’ education and clinical care. In addition to her many journal publications, she led the development of the signature textbook in this space, titled "How Sex and Gender Impact Clinical Practice: An Evidence-Based Guide to Patient Care," published by Elsevier (2020), and has co-authored two consumer books Eat Like a Woman and Why Women Aren’t Winning at Health (but can) in 2023.

    Nationally and internationally, Dr. Jenkins remains a sought-after speaker, having presented world-wide onthe topic of sex and gender research and clinical care, including Sweden’s Karolinska Institute, Royal Swedish Academic of Science, Charite Institute for Gender Medicine, and Canada’s Institute of Gender Health. She has been recognized with numerous awards for her work in sex and gender education, research, clinical care, and health policy.


    Afternoon Keynote Address: "Black Maternal and Infant Death: A Public Health Crisis"
    Margaret Larkins-Pettigrew, MD, MEd, MPPM, FACOG
    1:30-2:30 p.m.

    Dr. Margaret Larkins-Pettigrew is an international diversity, inclusion and equity expert, healthcare strategist, clinical OB/Gyn, professor, author and maternal/infant health care equity advocate.She is currently the first Senior Vice President/Chief ClinicalDiversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer (CCDEIO) of Allegheny HealthNetwork/Highmark Enterprise in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and the founder/CEO/President of WONDOOR (now JUSTWONDOOR),Women and Newborns, Diversity, Outreach, Opportunity andResearch, a program that aims to educate global medical providers through local and international health care collaborations.

    Margaret Larkins-Pettigrew, MD, MEd, MPPM, FACOG
    Margaret Larkins-Pettigrew, MD, MEd, MPPM, FACOG
  • Health Equity Summit 2023 Abstract Submission Categories
    • Clinical: Activities related to safety and effectiveness of medications, devices, diagnostic products; and treatment regimens intended for human use, including analysis of established clinical practice and case presentations. 
    • Public Health: Activities related to identifying and addressing community health needs. 
    • Medical Education Scholarship: Activities related to the design, development, and implementation of educational programs or events, including the utilization of technology in the classroom setting. 
    • Social and Behavioral Sciences: Activities related to the investigation of human society, social relationships, human behavior, medical ethics, and law.
    • Quality Improvement: Activities related to assessing processes and analyzing outcome data to improve the quality of patient care, timeliness of interventional services, and equity of health systems.
  • Abstract Submission Requirements

    Abstracts should describe the rationale for the research project including relevant background information, methods, results and a brief discussion/conclusion. Abstracts are limited to 350 words, and are recommended to be written in a structured format with subheadings. For more information, take a look at this case report abstract template, this ethics and humanities abstract template, or this research study abstract template, and check out the abstract submission requirements below.

    • Abstract:
      • Title
      • Presenting author name, other co-author’s names
      • Affiliation including department and/or program
      • Introduction including the objective of the proposed study
      • Methods
      • Results
      • Conclusions
      • References
         
    • IRB approval is REQUIRED for any research involving more than three human subjects.
    • The main body of the abstract must not exceed 350 words.
    • Figures are accepted and must not exceed 2 inches high or 192 pixels (i.e., graphs, photos, tables).
    • References can be included if it is necessary to cite references.
    • For WMed-affiliated abstracts, students and residents MUST work with a faculty mentor.
    • For research done outside WMed by med students, approval from the faculty supervising the research MUST be provided.
    • 1st authorship is permitted on MULTIPLE ABSTRACTS; however authors can be PRESENTING AUTHOR on ONE presentation.
    • Underline the presenting author.
    • Co-authorship on multiple abstracts is permitted.
    • NO REVISIONS to abstracts will be allowed after the submission deadline.
    • Abstract Submission Deadline: September 12, 2023, at 11:59pm (EST).
    • Abstracts review will begin September 28, 2023, and authors will be notified by October 2, 2023.


    If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to the Office of Health Equity & Community Affairs at: healthequityandcommunityaffairs@wmed.edu.

  • IRB Assistance with Abstract Submissions

    As you are preparing to submit your Health Equity Summit Abstract Submission and you’re trying to determine if/what IRB oversight is required, please contact the IRB at 269.337.4345. If you would like an in-person or virtual consultation please send an email to irb@wmed.edu or contact the IRB Director, Maureen Owens at 616.808.9159. The electronic IRB application is available at https://imedris.wmed.edu.