Plenary I/Gallagher Lecture
Wednesday, March 13, 2024
9:20-10:35 A.M. PT
Presentation #1
OMG, What R They Thinking: Healthcare Decision-making with Adolescents
Douglas Diekema, MD, MPH – University of Washington/Seattle Children’s
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Dr. Diekema is a Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine with adjunct appointments in the Departments of Bioethics & Humanities and Internal Medicine in the School of Medicine and the Department of Health Services in the School of Public Health. He is also an attending physician in the emergency department at Seattle Children’s Hospital. Dr. Diekema founded the Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics at Seattle Children’s Research Institute at Seattle Children’s in 2004 and currently serves as its Director of Education. He is past-Chair of the Committee on Bioethics of the American Academy of Pediatrics and a former elected Board member for the American Society for Bioethics & Humanities. He is currently Chair of the Secretary’s Advisory Committee for Human Subjects Protections (SACHRP) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and a member of the FDA’s Pediatric Advisory Committee. Dr. Diekema is the author of numerous scholarly publications in medical ethics and pediatric emergency medicine and an editor of Clinical Ethics in Pediatrics: A Case-based Textbook. He is an elected Fellow of the Hastings Center and was honored by the American Academy of Pediatrics as the 2014 recipient of the William G. Bartholome Award for Ethical Excellence.
Description: This lecture will explore the appropriate role of the adolescent patient in medical decision-making, including whether adolescents possess capacity of sufficient quality that their decisions should be respected even in the case of life-altering medical decisions. This session will critically examine the traditional approach to determining when adolescents should have their decisions respected (which focuses on assessments of capacity), the evolving understanding of adolescent brain development, and the implications of that “brain science” for how we should understand the role of the adolescent decision-making about their healthcare.
Learning Objectives:
- Discuss the implications of adolescent brain development on the quality and character of healthcare decision-making.
- List the kinds of conditions that interfere with optimal decision-making by adolescents.
- Identify strategies for involving adolescents in decisions about their healthcare.
Presentation #2
It’s My Body and I’ll Cry if I Want To: Balancing adolescent autonomy and protection in Ontario’s healthcare system
Adam Rapoport, MD, FRCPC, MH.Sc. – Hospital for Sick Children (Sick Kids)
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Adam Rapoport is a general pediatrician with a Masters in bioethics. In 2009, Adam joined the Temmy Latner Centre for Palliative Care at Mount Sinai Hospital as their pediatric consultant. In July 2011 he became the first Medical Director of the Paediatric Advanced Care Team (PACT), the palliative care service at SickKids. PACT provides both inpatient and outpatient palliative care to children with serious illnesses, and their families. In 2013 Adam became Medical Director at Toronto’s first pediatric residential hospice – Emily’s House. Adam has co-chaired Ontario’s Provincial Pediatric Palliative Care Steering Committee since 2018 and he was appointed by Ontario Health to lead the development of a provincial model of pediatric palliative care in 2022. He has more than 50 peer-reviewed publications and was co-editor of the Oxford Textbook of Palliative Care for Children (3rd ed). Adam’s academic work focuses on the intersection of his 3 primary interests: pediatrics, palliative care and ethics.
Description: This lecture will describe the framework for adolescent decision-making in Ontario, Canada, as outlined by the province’s Health Care Consent Act. The ethical challenges of applying the framework when an adolescent’s health is at risk will be demonstrated. By the end of the talk, I hope to reveal that while the principal of honouring an adolescent’s autonomy in medical decision-making is highly valued in Ontario, healthcare providers retain a great deal of power and influence over their decisions.
Learning Objectives:
- Describe the framework for adolescent decision-making outlined in Ontario’s Health Care Consent Act.
- Demonstrate the ethical challenges of applying the framework when an adolescent’s health is at risk.
- Acknowledge that the degree of adolescent autonomy in Ontario remains largely influenced by the opinions of healthcare providers.
Plenary II
Thursday, March 14, 2024
8:30-9:45 A.M. PT
Presentation #1
Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE): A global overview
Venkatraman Chandra-Mouli, MBBS, MSc
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Chandra retired from WHO in August this year after 30 years in the organization. For 18 years he led the work on adolescent health in the Department of Child and Adolescent Health (2005-2011) and then the work on adolescent sexual and reproductive health in the Department of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research (2012-2023). During this time, he made significant contributions to building the epidemiological and evidence base for adolescent health and supporting countries in translating this data and evidence into action through well-designed and well-managed policies and programs.
Over the last two years, he has received three awards, which honour his contribution to the field of adolescent health – the USA’s Society for Adolescent Medicine and Health’s Lifetime Achievement Award, the Rotary International Award for outstanding leadership, scholarship and service in adolescent sexual and reproductive health, and the World Association of Sexual Health Gold Medal for a lifetime of work on sexual health and rights.
Currently he continues to work on adolescent sexual and reproductive health, with a number of organizations but not for any one of them.
Description: Where is the adolescent sexual and reproductive health field, 30 years since the International Conference on Population and Development
CSE: What is it, why is it needed, what are it objectives and what is the evidence of the effectiveness of its contribution to good health in children and adolescents
CSE: A global snapshot
CSE: Country experiences on the path to scale up with quality and equity.
CSE: Building support and standing up to resistance.
Learning Objectives:
- What CSE is, why it is needed and what contribution it can make to good health.
- The situation of CSE globally; what progress countries are making in scaling up, sustaining and enhancing their CSE.
- What they are doing to build support and stand up to resistance to CSE.
Presentation #2
What Sex Ed Needs in 2024: Comprehensive means intersectional
Justine Ang Fonte, MEd, MPH – JAF Kalusugan, LLC
Description: Imagine a world where all of our intimate behaviors brought us safety, affirmation, and joy. While a dramatic cultural shift would need to occur for that to become a reality, it is not an impossibility. We can start by discussing sexuality with young people in relevant ways and free of shame. This keynote will unpack the intersection of health and identities to build a foundation of how much of what is unwell about our well-being stems from a lack of social justice in 2024.
Learning Objectives:
- Discuss the implications of adolescent brain development on the quality and character of healthcare decision-making.
- List the kinds of conditions that interfere with optimal decision-making by adolescents.
- Identify strategies for involving adolescents in decisions about their healthcare.
Plenary III
Saturday, March 16, 2024
9:45-11:00 A.M. PT
Presentation #1
Structural Racism
Bryana French, PhD, LP – University of St. Thomas
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Bryana H. French, PhD, LP, is an Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Professional Psychology at the University of St. Thomas. She graduated from the University of Illinois’ Counseling Psychology PhD program and began her teaching career at the University of Missouri before moving back to her hometown, Minneapolis. Her research, teaching, practice, and community engagement focuses on racial and sexual trauma and recovery, specifically among Black, Indigenous and People of Color. Her recent first authored article “Toward a psychological framework for radical healing in Communities of Color” is ranked in the top 5% on Altmetrics publication data with over 40,000 views and downloads in the first three years. Her research on men’s sexual victimization has been featured in several news outlets including Time, US News, and Huffington Post. Dr. French trains mental health professionals in multicultural, social justice, and liberation counseling she provides intersectional consultation across the country. Dr. French’s work has been recognized with awards throughout her career, including the APA Minority Fellowship Program, APA Leadership Institute for Women in Psychology, APA Divisions 17, 35, and 45, the Minnesota Psychological Association, and the Minnesota chapter of the Association of Black Psychologists.
Description: Advancing beyond individual-level approaches to coping with racial trauma, the psychological framework of radical healing calls for a multisystemic framework for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. Radical healing involves resisting oppression while envisioning possibilities and consists of five key components. The model of radical healing is applicable to clinical practice, research, training, and social justice advocacy.
Learning Objectives:
- Describe 5 components of the psychological framework of radical healing from racial trauma.
- Identify practical implications of radical healing.
- Apply the psychological framework of radical healing to an adolescent case example”
Presentation #2
How Racism and Xenophobia Impact Child and Adolescent Health
Delanjathan Devakumar, MD, PhD – University College of London
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Delan Devakumar is a Professor of Global Child Health in University College London and an honorary consultant in Public Health. He is a public health specialist with clinical expertise in paediatrics and in humanitarian contexts. He is co-Director of the UCL Centre for the Health of Women, Children and Adolescents.
Delan was lead for the Lancet Series on ‘racism, xenophobia, discrimination and health’ and is director and founder of the UCL Race & Health group. He was a commissioner and steering group member of the UCL-Lancet Commission on Migration. Delan is chair of the new Lancet Commission on Racism and Child and Adolescent Health.
Description: In this session I will summarise the findings from the Lancet series on racism, xenophobia, discrimination and health (Lancet 2022), with a focus on child and adolescent health. This will include a description of the conceptual model, historical references, definitions, health outcomes, and interventions. It will take a global and public health perspective, emphasising the structural nature of racism.
Learning Objectives:
- Review the conceptual model and definitions in the recent Lancet series on racism, xenophobia, discrimination and health.
- Understand how racism, xenophobia, and discrimination have impacted overall health historically.
- Illustrate the role we can take as health advocates to overcome structural injustices related to racism, xenophobia, and discrimination.
