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Call For Submissions: Gay Men’s Health Summit Seeks Presentations, Panels, Workshops (November 8-10, Vancouver)

April 13, 2018 /

From Gay Men’s Health Summit:

SUMMIT 2018

November 8-10

SFU: Vancouver Campus
515 West Hastings
Vancouver, BC

How’s your Head? Sexual Identity, Mental Health and Substance Use

Call for Submissions: Oral Presentations, Panels, Workshops, Videos, Roundtables, Readings

Loneliness, anxiety and depression are no strangers to those of us who have been denied equal status in society. Growing up in a heteronormative and ciscentric world, many gay, bi, trans, Two-Spirit, queer (GBT2Q), and other men who have sex with men have learned how everyday inequalities can impact our health. From microaggressions to institutionalized discrimination, these societal norms can have a lasting impact on our mental health. Combined with stigma towards, and within, our communities (including racism, HIV-stigma and transphobia), this can sometimes spiral into greater physical and sexual health concerns.

GBT2Q people have a long history of protesting discrimination, fighting stigma, and building community. What strengths and skills have we developed that we could use to improve our mental health, lessen our isolation, and increase our quality of life? What more can we learn from researchers and mental health professionals? What is the impact of bathhouse raids, marriage equality, Truth and Reconciliation, and Black Lives Matter on our sense of community? What have we learned? What do we still need to learn?

The 14th annual Summit provides a forum for identifying and addressing issues in GBT2Q and other men who have sex with men’s health across Canada. This year’s Summit will feature keynotes, panel presentations, and opportunities to hear from national and international experts to further explore how mental health impacts overall health, including our ability to access HIV services such as testing, treatment, condoms, PEP and PrEP.

The Summit is an opportunity for capacity building, training, and education initiatives designed to strengthen the network of those working and volunteering in GBT2Q men’s health. Local, national and international activists – community members and researchers alike – present on the latest trends in GBT2Q men’s health, sexual health, population health and the determinants of health.

CBRC is seeking submissions for oral presentations, panel topics, workshops, video presentations, roundtable discussions, and readings on the topic of mental health research, programming, advocacy, activism, grassroots responses, and/or community-based actions. We are also interested in hearing about community-based interventions and clinical approaches to battle social isolation and loneliness, as well as ways to support and promote mental wellness.

The following is a list of topics, themes and issues you might consider in the context of GBT2Q mental health and wellness:

  • Two-Spirit and QPOC communities: mobilization, interventions, culturally-specific responses
  • Body image, muscle dysmorphia, eating disturbance
  • Grief and loss (HIV/AIDS-related deaths, loss of friends/family after coming out, displacement if new to Canada)
  • Health and mental health settings for people with trans experience
  • Internalized stigma (race, sexuality, HIV, disability)
  • Problematic alcohol and drug use; meth use and psychosis
  • Self-harm and suicidality
  • Trauma (acute, developmental, complex)
  • Self-care, resistance, and community healing practices
  • Aging and coming out again
  • Aging and community: single, coupled, bereaved, excluded, networked/resourced
  • Anxiety and depression
  • Bisexual erasure
  • Gender dysphoria
  • Gender fluidity: how do people see themselves individually and as a community
  • Hormone therapies: emotional engagement and relating to others
  • Madness and survivor voices
  • Masculinities, gender role expectations, assigned female at birth (AFAB) experiences
  • Medicalization of trans bodies
  • Neurodiversity: Adult ADHD; living on the spectrum
  • Pressures around casual sex and relationships; navigating cruising spaces
  • Rejection: recurring experiences, history of, fears of, and the shifting plates with visibility of consent culture
  • Sexual and emotional communication: openness, ‘infidelity’
  • Sexual compulsion

WE WANT TO KNOW: What is the path forward to nurture and build a better world for gay, bisexual, Two-Spirit, trans and queer folks?

Submissions Deadline: June 15, 2018
300-word max, with title, author(s) and affiliation to be printed in the program.
Please include which suggested presentation format that you are choosing. Send your summary abstract to: summit@cbrc.net

1. Oral Presentations: 15-20 minutes
Ideal for research & evaluation findings, program reviews, project result.

Suggested Headings

  • Goals: Intended audience; learning objectives
  • Background/Issues: Research/program objectives; summary of issues
  • Methods: Research methods; program actions
  • Results: Summary of data; lessons learned; implications for practice

2. Workshop, Panel, Readings: 1 or 1.5 hour(s)

Ideal for knowledge exchange experiences, interprofessional dialogue.

Suggested Headings

  • Overview: background; rationale
  • Goals: Intended audience; learning objectives
  • Background/Issues: Research/program objectives; summary of issues
  • Activities: Speakers, topics, exercises
  • Results: Summary of data; lessons learned; implications for practice

3. Poster Presentations

Ideal for project statements & updates, work in progress, intervention activities.
Suggested Headings

  • Background/Issues: Situation analysis; rationale
  • Methods/Actions: Community strategy; description of actions
  • Discussion: Observations; early findings; problems, snags & solutions
  • Next steps: Anticipated developments; adjusted practices