12th Annual Scientific Conference: "Health Systems Research: People's Needs First"

ICDDR,B invites scientists, health professionals, programme managers, community organizers, and policy-makers to take part in the Centre’s 12th Annual Scientific Conference (ASCON XII). Interested persons are invited to submit abstracts, keeping in mind the theme of the Conference “Health Systems Research: People's Needs First.” This forum provides an opportunity to disseminate and share results of research, experience, and lessons learnt from recent projects and programmes.

The 12th ASCON is expected to address all of the above issues and to identify the essential tasks and future directions to be determined for achieving the Millennium Development Goals and beyond through the use of health policy and systems research.

The programme is designed to be varied, stimulating, and relevant to Bangladesh, South Asia and other developing-country participants. There will be plenary sessions on key health systems research issues and on future directions in health systems research in low- and middle-income countries.

Key objectives
The 12th ASCON will concentrate on HSR that falls into the following six building blocks from the Framework for Action developed by the World Health Organization:

Service Delivery: Addressing how services are organized and managed to ensure access, quality, safety and continuity of care across health conditions, across facilities and over time.
Information and Evidence: The generation and strategic use of information, evidence and research on health and health systems in order to strengthen management, leadership and governance.
Medical Products and Technologies: Ensuring equitable access to essential medical products and technologies of assured quality, safety, efficacy and cost effectiveness, and their scientifically sound and cost-effective use.
Health Workforce: Managing dynamic labour markets, addresses entry into and exits from the health workforce and improvements in the performance and distribution of existing health workers.
Health Financing: Raising adequate funds for health in ways that ensure people can use needed services and are protected from financial catastrophe or impoverishment associated with having to pay for these services.
Leadership and Governance: Ensuring that strategic policy frameworks exist and are combined with effective oversight, coalition building, regulation, attention to health-system design issues and promotion of accountability in order to protect the public interest in health.
Registration details
For information on submitting abstracts please go to: http://www.icddrb.org/activity/?typeOfActivity=ASCON

For registration guidlines please go to: http://www.icddrb.org/activity/index.jsp?activityObjectID=4183

Abstracts should be prepared following the abstract-preparation guidelines and forwarded at the latest by 15 November 2008 to: [email protected]. Abstracts can also be submitted online at the ASCON XII website.

Contact Details
M. Shamsul Islam Khan, Head Publications Unit and Managing Editor JHPN, ICDDR,B. Mohakhali, Dhaka 1212 (GPO Box 128, Dhaka 1000) Bangladesh.
Email: [email protected]
Fax: 880-2-8819133
Phone: 880-2-8822467