The 2023 National Birth Defects Prevention Network Conference Call for Proposals

Theme: The theme of the 2023 NBDPN National Conference is “Connect. Share. Collaborate.” The theme represents the national meeting as a platform for the NBDPN community to leverage each other’s expertise and partner for better birth defects surveillance, research, prevention, and health promotion. As the only national conference for population-based birth defects surveillance programs, this theme underscores the opportunity to experience community and inspiration, and to gain knowledge, tools, and skills.

The tracks for the 2023 NBDPN National Conference are:

• Surveillance Operations: Case ascertainment; continuous quality improvement (CQI); data linkages; data modernization/data systems/interoperability; program management
• Partnerships and Family Engagement: Collaborations with other public health programs; leadership engagement; program visibility
• Epidemiology/Data: Birth defect rates, trends, risk factors; Birth Defects Study To Evaluate Pregnancy exposure (BD-STEPS); statistical methods/analyses
• Prevention, Intervention, and Public Policy: Birth Defects Awareness Month (BDAM) activities; lifespan surveillance; neural tube defects (NTD) prevention/folic acid promotion activities; referrals
• Emerging, Evolving, and Novel Topics: Data systems; infectious disease; new birth defects testing; new disorders; newborn screening (NBS); prenatal diagnosis




Submission Category Descriptions*:

Poster

Graphic presentation of research or program results to be placed on a poster board; presenters are encouraged to provide handouts/flyers for those interested in learning more about the project described in the poster. At least one author must be available at the conference to set-up, answer questions during poster presentations, and dismantle.

Poster Criteria:

• Poster Size: Posters must fit on a 4' by 4' poster board

• Font size: Materials should be legible from a viewing distance of 3'

• Resolution: Poster should be of a sufficient resolution to be read online; we recommend 600-1200dpi

• Max file size: 550 MB

• Allowable file types: PDF (preferred) or PowerPoint (PPT/PPTX)


2023 National Birth Defects Prevention Network Conference Theme and Tracks

Who Should Submit?
The NBDPN Conference highlights the work and impact of birth defects surveillance programs. All current NBDPN members, as well as those with lived experience and partners in the field of birth defects, are encouraged to make submission.


Plan Accordingly
It’s estimated that it takes about 4-6 hours to pull all of the content pieces together, and ~30 minutes to fill out the forms for the actual submission. You may save your submission and log back in to complete and submit at any time before the due date. Please plan accordingly for the due date of June 2, 2023.



NBDPN Culture
The NBDPN Conference is the ideal venue to present your ideas, research, innovative programming, best practices and effective outreach strategies to MCH, Birth Defect and Birth Condition Programs, and other public health programs. Our audience includes state program staff, federal officials, researchers, health care providers, and advocates.

NBDPN is committed to being a diverse and inclusive organization by promoting racial and health equity, anti-racism, and decreasing health disparities. We are working to operationalize this commitment throughout our organization, including our communication, data, partnerships, and events. We are leveraging opportunities like the NBDPN conference to live up to our commitments, including establishing honest conversations about racism, racial and health equity, and health disparities in our spheres of influence.




Inclusive Terms
We are committed to refraining from using terms that further perpetuate narratives that place and describe communities of color as deficit populations (i.e. using the terms ‘vulnerable,' ‘at-risk,’ or ‘low-income’ to describe a particular racial or ethnic group). Use of this language implies there is something inherently flawed in that community and places blame on the individual or a particular racial/ethnic group.

All written and spoken language should be respectful of communities and gender identities and identify the systems that have failed to invest in creating an optimal environment for positive health outcomes as the problem.

This CDC resource may be helpful to you as you shift your language.