Integrative Medicine for the Underserved Aims for Self-Care While Supporting Social Justice and Balance in Integrative Health
The 9th Annual Integrative Medicine for the Underserved (IM4US) conference aims to examine the inextricable connections between social justice, health equity, and the delivery of quality integrative health care for the underserved. It is an opportunity for those who serve the underserved to learn innovative practical strategies for engaging in self-care while providing care for the underserved and advocating for social change and health equity.
SAN FRANCISCO, June 3, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- A growing problem in healthcare today that demands our immediate attention is provider burnout. Factors that contribute to this problem include increased workloads, electronic health records, lack of time with patients, loss of flexibility, lack of control, sleep deprivation, and issues with balancing work and personal life. These factors can significantly affect health and healthcare in many ways, not only for the providers themselves but for their patients too, especially the underserved. All too often, provider burnout can become even more prevalent in situations where there are the inequities of access to quality care .
Integrative Medicine for the Underserved (IM4US) plans to tackle this issue at the 9th Annual Conference, held August 22-24, 2019 at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, California. This year's conference aims to examine the inextricable connections between social justice, health equity, and the delivery of quality integrative healthcare for the underserved. Attendees will also learn innovative and practical strategies for providing quality, whole person care for the underserved while learning how to balance their own self-care in a demanding, fast-paced, and sometimes resourced limited work environment.
IM4US is a member-based community that embraces diversity and welcomes all individuals who advocate and care for the underserved, especially those from under-represented healing professions and backgrounds. Typical conference attendees include medical and healing professionals, educators, researchers, students, advocates, nonprofit leaders and healthcare administrators from across the U.S. who come together to be part of a like-minded community centered on activism around health equity and increasing access to quality integrative health care for the underserved.
IM4US aims to reduce access barriers to integrative clinical care. Through building collaborations with holistic health care providers and partnerships with community-based organizations and medical institutions, IM4US promotes the vision of accessible integrative health care for all.
"This year's conference portends to be one of our best! We will focus on self-care, a critical issue for those who care for the underserved. Our conference attendees are integrative providers who provide compassionate holistic care in poorly resourced settings where reimbursement is inadequate. This is an opportunity for them to explore practical ways to care for themselves so they are better able to care for others. We will also focus on solidarity and how we can come together as individuals and as a community to be instruments of social justice", says Priscilla Abercrombie, RN, NP, PhD and President of the Board, IM4US.
The University of California San Francisco's Osher Center for Integrative Medicine is the current conference Education Sponsor. "IM4US provides an opportunity to focus on our collective responsibility, as advocates of integrative medicine, to ensure that we address the health and well-being of all members of our society. The upcoming conference will provide important strategies for sustaining our integrative healthcare workforce as we strive for health equity and justice", says Shelley R. Adler, PhD, Director and Osher Foundation Distinguished Professor of Integrative Medicine.
Those interested in attending the IM4US 9th Annual Conference can register here. For general conference information, or information about conference sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities, please click here to confirm your support, or contact info(at)im4us(dot)org.
About IM4US
Integrative Medicine for the Underserved IM4US is a nonprofit organization that was founded by a small group of very committed family practice physicians providing primary care to the underserved. They strongly believed that integrative health care should be accessible to their patients as well as the wealthy. It is a collaborative, multidisciplinary group of people committed to affordable, accessible integrative health care for all. Through outreach, education, research, and advocacy, we support those dedicated to promoting health in underserved populations. IM4US works to shift the current health care paradigm towards wellness, prevention, patient empowerment, and self-care.
SOURCE Integrative Medicine for the Underserved
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