SPPAC 2024 – New Orleans - Society of Pediatric Psychology

Video message from Naadira and Lauren!

For information about conference programming, please contact:
2024 Conference Chair: Naadira Upshaw: nupshaw@emory.edu
2024 Conference Co-Chair: Lauren Harrison: leharr@stanford.edu

The wait is finally over! We are excited to announce that the 2024 Society of Pediatric Psychology Annual Conference will be in New Orleans on April 25 -27, 2024 at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans! Mark your calendars! The theme for SPPAC 2024 has been announced: What’s Next? Defining the Path Forward for Pediatric Psychology.

Special Thanks to our SPPAC 2024 Partner Sponsors

SPPAC 2024 Theme Plenary Speakers Registration Housing Program Service Project Abstracts Posters Sponsorship Accomodations CE FAQ

SPPAC 2024 Theme

What’s Next? Defining the Path Forward for Pediatric Psychology

The practice of Pediatric Psychology has shifted since our discipline's origin in 1967 and many lessons were learned in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the inflection point of the social justice movement. As Pediatric Psychologists, we were called to rapidly mobilize our skillsets to meet the needs of our communities, patients and families, learners, profession, and our own wellbeing. As Division 54 continues to grow and adapt, it becomes necessary to redefine the future of Pediatric Psychology beyond the traditional walls of our practice. The lessons learned in the past four years will undoubtedly shape the future of Pediatric Psychology and prepare us for the everchanging landscape of the world, including future pandemics. Thus, our goal is to develop a SPPAC 2024 program that is reflective, innovative, and relevant for the field of Pediatric Psychology across all career stages to disseminate knowledge learned and evaluated within this place and time in history, as well as define the path forward. With this, we are excited to release the call for proposals for SPPAC 2024 and announce the conference theme: What’s Next? Defining the Path Forward for Pediatric Psychology.

Consistent with this theme, we are seeking proposals that demonstrate our field’s growth, sustainability, and relevance for decades to come, as well as provide hope for the promising future of our profession. We are also calling for proposals that center the voices and needs of those who hold multiple marginalized identities. Further, we are interested in understanding how the evolution of Pediatric Psychology has impacted the communities within which we work, and the efforts made to intentionally reach and respond to their needs. Finally, we seek broad expertise in continuing to inform how to prioritize our organization’s values of anti-oppression, social justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. We hope that SPPAC 2024 will be a time for reflecting on our hard-earned lessons of the past four years with a hopeful look towards the future. Below are some examples of topics that are consistent with the conference theme, but these are intended to generate ideas, and proposals are not limited to the topics below. We also encourage proposals that are cross-cutting and designed to address multiple domains of practice.

Professional Development and Wellbeing for Psychologists and Learners:

Applications of how leadership roles, privilege, and power by Pediatric Psychologists were leveraged during the COVID-19 pandemic and/or social justice movements for actionable systemic change
Reflexive and cutting-edge strategies to effectively support, train, and supervise Pediatric Psychology learners in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and/or social justice movement
Systemic efforts to attend to and improve the mental health and wellness of Pediatric Psychologists across the career lifespan (I.e., undergraduate training to retirement) during the COVID-19 pandemic and/or social justice movement
Professional development and growth opportunities as it relates to various career trajectories for Pediatric Psychologists, as well as how to creatively shift careers (e.g., moving from academia to private practice, consultation, retirement)

Clinical Practice:

Innovative, evidenced-based modifications made to the delivery of services via telemedicine (intervention, supervision, and research), and efforts advocating for billing and financial sustainability for telemedicine services (within institutions, policy) for Pediatric Psychology
Development of sustainable programs and efforts that have evolved our clinical practice to support Pediatric Psychologists’ ability to respond to social justice and public health crises

Research and Dissemination:

Innovative strategies for the rapid dissemination of trusted, relevant, and scientific information outside of the walls of academia and medicine
Research centered on community participatory action methods to engage and center the communities most impacted and vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic and/or oppression

Policy, Advocacy, and Community Partnerships:

Centering the voices of diverse and historically marginalized pediatric patients to adapt evidence-based practice to support equitable and inclusive delivery of care
Novel approaches to collaborating with community partners, medical colleagues, and other stakeholders for the uptake of rapidly evolving science
Strategies and programs that are redefining the traditional role of Pediatric Psychology to attend to the needs of the community (e.g., locally and nationally; professionally)

Naadira C. Upshaw, PsyD, ABPP
SPPAC 2024 Conference Chair
Nupshaw@emory.edu | twitter.com/drnaespeaks

Lauren Harrison, PhD
SPPAC 2024 Conference Co-Chair
Leharr@stanford.edu | twitter.com/harrison_laur

Plenary Speakers

Looking Ahead: EDI in Pediatric Psychology

Maysa Akbar, Ph.D, ABPP

Maysa (MY-SA) Akbar, PhD, ABPP is a respected scientist-practitioner and APA’s Chief Diversity Officer and Chief of Psychology in the Public Interest. She is charged with infusing equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) into the fabric of the association’s work. As the leading architect of APA’s evolving EDI framework, Dr. Akbar works with APA staff, leaders, and members to refine and build consensus for an overall plan, operationalize its goals and establish metrics to monitor and ensure progress. The CDO also serves as a spokesperson and advocate for EDI in the field of psychology, both within and outside the association. Before assuming the CDO post, she was the founder and chief executive officer of a clinical practice based in New Haven, Connecticut, which specialized in race-based trauma. She created a consulting firm and educational network focused on organizational cultural transformation. Her firm delivered cutting-edge programs anchored in EDI to city governments, public schools and, court systems, among other entities. Dr. Akbar’s areas of specialty include racial identity development, racism, urban trauma and, allyship, topics on which she has authored research articles, books, and book chapters. Dr. Akbar is an experienced instructor and master trainer in EDI for both the medical and the broader community.

Promoting Social Justice through Applied Science: Integrating Cultural Adaptation, Implementation Science and CBPR in Parenting Prevention Research with Latinx Populations

Rubén Parra-Cardona, Ph.D

Rubén Parra-Cardona, PhD, is a Professor and Associate Dean for Global Engagement at the Steve Hicks School of Social Work. He is also Area Director for Research at the UT-Austin Latino Research Institute. He was funded by NIMH to investigate the treatment efficacy and relevance of two versions of an evidence-based parenting intervention culturally adapted for Latino families with young children. He is currently funded by NIDA to extend this line of research to Latinx families with adolescent children. He also served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Society for Prevention Research. He has extensive experience on research collaborations across the U.S.-Mexico border. Currently, he is Co-Principal Investigator on a large-scale initiative to disseminate a culturally adapted parenting program in Chile. He was recently invited to serve as an expert co-author on a Parenting Intervention Handbook to be published by the World Health Organization, focused on helping international organizations and governments select, design, evaluate, implement, monitor, and scale up evidence-based parenting interventions to prevent maltreatment and enhance parent-child relationships in children aged 0-17 years.

Hope the Hard Way: Navigating the Realities of Hope

Jacqueline S. Mattis, Ph.D

Jacqueline S. Mattis, Ph.D. is Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Rutgers University-Newark. She earned her B.A. in psychology from New York University, and her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Michigan. Her research focuses on the role of religion and spirituality in the lives of African American and Afri-Caribbean youth and adults, and on the factors that are associated with positive psychological and psychosocial development of urban-residing African American and AfriCaribbean youth and adults. In particular, she uses quantitative and qualitative methods to explore the factors that contribute to volunteerism, civic engagement, altruism, compassion, empathy, forgiveness, optimism, and positive parenting among urban-residing African American and Afri-diasporic people. She has co-authored numerous articles and has served on the editorial boards of numerous journals. She co-authored (with collaborator Fulya Kurter) two books on counseling in the Turkish cultural context, including a handbook entitled “Culturally sensitive counseling from the perspective of Turkish practitioners” (Bahcesehir University Press). This handbook explores the topic of culture, cultural diversity and intercultural dynamics within Turkey as these issues apply to the practice of counseling. Among the honors she has received over her career are the Distinguished Psychologist Award from the Association of Black Psychologists (2014); and NYU’s Martin Luther King Jr. Award (2011) for teaching excellence, leadership, social justice and community building. She has been recognized for her mentorship and teaching. She received the 2020 Paul M. Fitts Graduate Mentor Award from the University of Michigan Graduate Leadership Council) for outstanding mentorship of graduate students in Psychology, and the 2020 Cornerstone Award for unique contributions to enhancing the academic and social progress of African American students at the University of Michigan. She also received the Outstanding Mentor Award from the University of Michigan’s Undergraduate Research Opportunities program (2019).

Registration

To get the member registration rate for SPPAC 2024, you must be a SPP member paid through 2024.

Early Registration will close March 8, 2024 @ 11:59pm PST

If you prefer to pay via check or wire transfer. Please fill out this registration form.

SPPAC 2024 Conference Registration Rates

Student Member Conference
Early: $220 Late: $320

Student Non-Member Conference
Early: $345 Late: $445

Regular Member Conference
Early: $495 Late: $595

Regular Non-Member Conference
Early: $645 Late: $745

Retiree Member Conference
Early: $220 Late: $320

Pre-Conference Workshop Fees

Student (Member & Non-Member)
1 Workshop: $100
2 Workshop: $175

Regular Member
1 Workshop: $150
2 Workshop: $250

Non-Member
1 Workshop: $200
2 Workshop: $300

Retiree Member
1 Workshop: $100
2 Workshop: $175

Cancellation Policy – Within 48 hours, cancelations will be fully refunded, after the 48 hours, registrants will be subject to a 5% processing fee

Housing

Program

Service Project

SPP’s Committee for Outreach and Service (SPP COS)

Mission & Objectives

Since its inception in 2020, The Society of Pediatric Psychology Committee for Outreach and Service (SPP COS - pronounced “cause”) has been dedicated to increasing outreach and service efforts among SPP members. While we as psychologists and trainees serve individual patients, families, and our local organizations, our belief is that our reach can be extended further. Each year, SPP COS is committed to offering at least one SPPAC Service Project with the goal of giving back to the community hosting us for our conference proceedings. Beyond this event, SPP COS is also deeply committed and motivated to the promotion of service and outreach throughout the year and beyond the conference environment. These ideas are still in the early innovation stages, so stay tuned for more information in the future!

SPP COS is proud to announce this year’s #SPPACService project supporting Love Your Neighbor NOLA. Committed to community outreach and partnership, Love Your Neighbor NOLA provides a range of services to local families to support individual goals of self-sufficiency. This organization primarily services marginalized and minoritized youth and caregivers, including those from communities within NOLA which have been historically and systematically exposed to violence and trauma.

Services provided by Love Your Neighbor NOLA to families include individualized, hands-on support; peer mentoring; trauma-informed care and resources; support accessing mental and behavioral healthcare, employment, daycare, education and other services; hosting community events in partnership with businesses, nonprofits, and community leaders; and providing essential items and other donations to families in need. Learn more at https://www.loveyourneighbornola.com and follow @loveyourneighbornola on Instagram.

In partnership with Love Your Neighbor NOLA founder, Nadia Sanchez, we have designed the following two #SPPACService opportunities:

Onsite (at Conference Hotel) Service Project: During the poster sessions, stop by the SPP Cos Table to assemble 1-2 hygiene kits for Love Your Neighbor NOLA.

Offsite (at Love Your Neighbor NOLA) Service Opportunity: On Thursday, 4/25/23 from 3:30-5:30PM, SPP Cos will partner with Love Your Neighbor NOLA in hosting a community event with local families. SPP participants will utilize their skill sets as psychologists and trainees to engage in educational (i.e., mini coping skill stations) and play-based activity stations with youth and families during this event. Transportation to and from the event will be provided. We also highly encourage and welcome our Spanish-speaking members to participate and share your valuable skill set!

If interested in participating, please use the SPPAC 2024 Registration Portal or email our team.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Follow, post, and repost/RT with our hashtags: #SPPACService and #SPPCOS

MEET OUR TEAM

Desireé N. Williford, PhD, MPH

SPP COS Founder & Faculty Chair

Assistant Professor of Pediatrics

Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center

University of Cincinnati

Rachel Fisher, MS

SPP COS Trainee Co-Chair (Outgoing)

Doctoral Candidate

Oklahoma State University

Ariel Blakey, MA

SPP COS Trainee Co-Chair

Doctoral Candidate

Boston University

Kirby-Estar Laguerre

SPP COS Trainee Co-Chair (Incoming)

Doctoral Student

West Virginia University

PAST #SPPACService PARTNERSHIPS

2023 - By the Hand Club for Kids, Chicago, IL: https://bythehand.org/

2022 - The Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Phoenix, AZ: https://www.stvincentdepaul.net/

2022 - Achieving My Purpose, Phoenix AZ: https://www.achievingmypurpose.org/

2020 - The Stewpot, Dallas, TX: https://www.thestewpot.org/

THANK YOUs

A special thank you to our SPPAC Conference Chairs, former SPP COS team members, & other instrumental supporters. You are a HUGE part of making SPP COS a success!

Naadira Upshaw, PsyD
Lauren Harrison, PhD
Jocelyn Carter, PhD
Kelsey (Hill) Jong, MS
Juliana Yanguas, PsyD
SPP Student Advisory Board
SPP Student/Trainee Antiracism Subgroup

Questions, Comments, or Suggestions?

Contact our Faculty Chair, Dr. Desireé Williford, at Desiree.Williford@cchmc.org

Abstracts

Call for Late Breaking Poster Abstracts Now Open!

Submit your Late Breaking Poster Abstract here!

Accepting proposals until February 19, 2024 at 11:59pm PT.

Late Breaking Poster Abstract Guidelines:

Submissions for late breaking poster abstracts must not exceed 300 words (not including authors, affiliations, and title). Please list author affiliation based on where the work was completed. Tables, figures, and references are not permitted. Authors are limited to one first-authored abstract submission. All poster submissions must have data at the time of submission. Authors must attest that abstract data are novel and are not currently submitted nor under review or published in any other medium that will be published or presented before SPPAC 2024.

All abstract submissions must include the following headings:

Introduction (background, objective)
Methods (sample, procedures, measures, analysis)
Results (primary findings)
Conclusions (implications)

Poster abstracts will be reviewed based on the following six categories:

Significance: Importance of the study findings, contribution to pediatric psychology.
Approach: Quality of the research methods
Summary score: Overall quality of the proposal.
Alignment with the conference theme.
Equity, diversity, and inclusion considerations.
Incorporation of patient and family voices.

Posters

Poster Presenter Information

Please review these POSTER SPECIFICATIONS 2024.

As you begin to prepare your poster presentation, please remember the following important Continuing Education regulations:

All material presented should be empirically supported (evidence-based), with the limitations to findings or recommendations fully explained.
Presenters should disclose potential conflicts of interest (e.g., commercial support interest for sponsors, presenters, content of instruction, or any other relationship that could reasonably be construed as a conflict of interest).
In accordance with APA ethical guidelines, all specific identifiers should be excluded from any case presentations.

Please note: All poster presenters must register and pay for the meeting.

Poster Session Information:

SPPAC will have three poster sessions.

Poster sessions are divided based on the primary topic of abstract submission.

Poster Session Map

Poster Session I | Thursday, April 25, 7:00-8:00pm
Topics: Allergic Diseases, Diabetes, Digital Health, Gender Health, Intervention Development, Obesity, Primary Care, Quality Improvement, Rehabilitation Medicine, Sleep, Solid Organ Transplant, and Telehealth

Poster Session I Poster Numbers

Set-up After: 4:00pm, April 25

Take-down by: 8:00pm, April 25

Poster Session II | Friday, April 26, 8:00-9:00am
Topics: Adherence, Adolescent & Young Adult, Advocacy, Caregiving/Wellbeing, Complementary and Integrative Medicine, COVID-19, Diversity, Gastroenterology, Measure Development, Medical Traumatic Stress, Parents, Social Justice, and Training

Poster Session II Poster Numbers

Set-up after: 7:30am, April 26

Take-down by: 12:30pm, April 26

Poster Session III | Friday, April 26, 6:00-7:00pm
Topics: Cardiology, Clinical Trials, Consultation-Liaison, Craniofacial, Differences of Sex Development, Epilepsy, Functional Neurological Symptom Disorders (FNSD/FND), Hematology/Oncology, Neonatology, Nephrology, Pain, Palliative Care, Patient & Family Voices, Policy, Qualitative Research, and Sports Medicine

Poster Session III Poster Numbers

Set-up after: 3:00pm, April 26

Take-down by: 7:00pm, April 26

Sponsorship

Sponsorship Opportunities

Visit the SPPAC Online Store

Check out SPP's sponsorship opportunities for SPPAC 2024, April 25-27 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

SPPAC 2024 Sponsorship Packet

SPPAC 2024 Sponsorship Fillable Form

All sponsorship opportunities inquires should be sent to info@pedpsych.org.

An online store will be opening shortly to purchase sponsorship packages through the SPP website.

Accomodations

SPPAC is pleased to provide accommodations to support a more inclusive conference. This year, the following will be available to members who need it:

Gender neutral restroom
Nursing room
Quiet reflection room
Menus to accommodate all diets including Kosher for Passover (Please reach out to inquire about this)
American Sign Language Interpreters (Please reach out to inquire about this)
Strong encouragement of closed captioning during presentations
ADA accessible presentation halls

While registering please be sure to keep an eye out for the sections on dietary restrictions and special accommodations. Let us know what you need! If you have any questions or concerns please email info@pedpsych.org.

FAQ

Updated 11/28/2023

In preparation for SPPAC 2024, we would like to share answers to some frequently asked questions. If there are other questions that we haven’t covered here, please email info@pedpsych.org.

SPP’s COVID-19 HEALTH AND SAFETY GUIDELINES FOR SPPAC 2024:

SPP is following local COVID-19 guidance and CDC recommendations for hosting this event. We strongly encourage attendees to do what we know helps slow the spread of COVID-19 and protect those who are most at risk for severe illness. This includes being up to date on your COVID-19 vaccine series, self-testing, physical distancing, wearing a high-quality mask when in crowded indoor settings, and isolating if you experience COVID-19 symptoms during the conference.

SPP will provide color-coded stickers to help attendees clearly show their interaction and distance comfort levels for physical distancing.

Green: I’m OK with hugs and high fives

Yellow: I’m OK with talking but not touching

Red: Hello! I’m keeping my distance.

Hand sanitizer stations will be accessible throughout the meeting space. Hotel staff will follow the Hyatt’s Global Care & Cleanliness Commitment policy, which can be viewed here. We encourage attendees to consider their own comfort levels and personal situations when following the CDC recommendations and respect the choices of their fellow attendees.

IS THERE A VIRTUAL OR HYBRID OPTION FOR SPPAC 2024?

Special interest groups (SIGs) will host their meetings virtually the week prior to the two weeks prior to the conference on April 8-19 at a time of their choosing. Affinity groups will have the option to host their meetings in-person during the conference on April 25-27 or virtually the week after the conference on April 29-May 3. All other conference programming will be held in person in New Orleans on April 25-27. We will not video record presentations at the live conference. We also will not provide a live simulcast during the conference.

WILL I BE PENALIZED IF I SUBMIT AN ABSTRACT AND LATER WITHDRAW MY SUBMISSION DUE TO THE EVOLVING COVID-19 PANDEMIC?

No. We want submitters to feel comfortable submitting their science. If an oral submission is withdrawn, we welcome you to re-submit for the 2025 meeting.

WHAT IS THE CANCELATION POLICY?

All cancelations within 48 hours of registering will be fully refunded. All other cancellations will be subject to a 4% processing fee. All refunds will be processed after the conference. SPP also encourages all attendees to book refundable or changeable travel if possible.

HOW DOES THIS CONFERENCE SUPPORT WORKING PARENTS AND INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE BREASTFEEDING?

Although childcare options will not be available during SPPAC, our Guide to New Orleans will include several family-friendly restaurants, activities, and attractions near the conference hotel. Individuals who are breastfeeding are welcome to use a private nursing room near the conference area, if needed. The location of this room will be provided in the conference program.

CAN I RECEIVE FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO ATTEND SPPAC 2024?

Please review SPP's award opportunities.

Complimentary registrations to SPPAC are available for:

Plenary Speakers
Select Conference Planning Committee Members: Conference Chair, Conference Co-Chair, MAL CE, and Student Representative
Journal Staff: JPP Editorial Assistant, JPP Publisher Representative, CPPP Editorial Assistant, CPPP Publisher Representative
Conference Sponsors: one at levels at $3,000 or higher
Non-Psychologist Speakers: (e.g. physician non-members, family/patient advocates)

Discounted registrations to SPPAC are available for:

First-time SPPAC attendees (member or non-member) who identify as belonging to marginalized group(s) (g., race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, immigration status, country of origin, disability, first generation scholar) are eligible for a 10% discount on registration fees. Email info@pedpsych.org for the coupon code. Attendees do not need to disclose which marginalized group they belong to but do need to confirm they are a first time attendee.
SPP is collecting donations and sponsorships specifically dedicated to supporting complimentary registrations for first-time SPPAC attendees who identity as belonging to marginalized groups(s). These funds will be divided equally across all eligible first-time attendees to help offset registration costs and will be distributed at the time of check-in or soon after the conference.

HOW DO I BOOK MY HOTEL ROOM?

After you register you will receive an email with a link to book your hotel room at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans.

WHAT IF I AM ATTENDING SPPAC AND OBSERVING PASSOVER?

Due to SPPAC 2024 coinciding with the observance of Passover this year, we will be offering Kosher for Passover meals for all those typically provided during the conference, which includes breakfast, welcome reception, and snack breaks. Please indicate your dietary preference when registering and you will be personally sent additional information on how to receive the meals.

New This Year!

SPP will be providing dedicated space for breastfeeding mothers and a Quiet Reflection room for conference attendees to have a mindful social break. The location of these rooms will be available in the conference program.