A signature activity of the ASA Health Policy Statistics Section (HPSS) is the biennial International Conference on Health Policy Statistics (ICHPS). The 12th ICHPS will be held January 10–12, 2018, in Charleston, South Carolina.
The theme of ICHPS 2018 is “Health Statistical Science Care, Policy, Outcomes.” The conference will focus on the interactive relationship between health services research and innovative statistical methodology.
ICHPS is a smaller, more focused meeting relative to JSM that provides an opportunity to get to know a community of health policy and health services researchers. ICHPS can help link methodologists with policymakers and other stakeholders in the health policy arena to add focus and perspective to the development of new methodological tools.
Students, recent graduates, and international colleagues are all encouraged to attend the line-up of workshops and sessions. Contributed abstracts will be posted in September. Confirmed keynote and plenary speakers include the following:
- Robert Califf, professor of cardiology at Duke University School of Medicine and former commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration
- Suchi Saria, assistant professor in computer science, biostatistics, and health policy and management at The Johns Hopkins University.
Additionally, outstanding junior and senior researchers will be recognized with mid-career and long-term excellence awards sponsored by HPSS.
Who Should and How to Participate?
The program is diverse and includes researchers from around the US and overseas. While the abstract submission window has closed, there are still ways to participate.
Do you have a ‘hot topic’ you want to discuss with others? Roundtables and town hall discussions are being planned for Thursday afternoon. Email the program committee with your topic of interest or the name of a person you want to chat with for career advice so they can better arrange tables and space.
Also contact the program committee to volunteer your time to chair a session or support students, new graduates, or others attending ICHPS.
Finally, the ICHPS local committee is organizing a selection of independent networking activities such as group dinners at local restaurants that conference attendees can lead and sign up to attend. These are designed to help foster communication and enhance discussions and community building outside the typical conference setting. There also will be historical walking tours, fun ghost tours, and suggested evening and weekend events for informal meet-ups. Most of these activities will have additional costs, but program committee members are trying to arrange a group discount where feasible. As details become available, they will be posted on the ICHPS website and through the ICHPS Facebook event.
Why Charleston?
On the scientific side, South Carolina has historical relevance for ICHPS. South Carolina was one of the first states in the US to create a statewide health collaborative. Rural health clinics, community health centers, primary care practices owned by hospitals, large health care systems, and the state’s three research-intensive universities came together under Health Sciences South Carolina to put into place electronic health record systems and other steps to transform the state’s public health by enabling statewide evidence-based research to inform policy.
For fun and relaxation, Charleston has been part of US history since before the Revolutionary War and is on many travel and food destination lists.
Details
ICHPS will be held at the Charleston Marriott. Rooms in the conference hotel are being offered to ICHPS participants at $139 plus tax each night, which is below the federal government rate. Charleston has a variety of hotel and travel options within a few miles of the meeting venue. In addition to what you may find on your own, the program committee will have a list of local activities for each evening and the Saturday following the conference to facilitate attendees taking in the many sights of Charleston.
Do not forget to register for the conference and check out the Facebook event page for more discussion of Charleston-related activities. Early registration opens September 15, 2017. For students and recent graduates, registration is only $25, and workshops are free!
Finally, September 29 (11:59 p.m. ET) is the deadline for current students and recent graduates who already submitted abstracts to also submit travel award requests.
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