Interprofessional ADHCE Video Lectures

Presented July 2, 2026

Presenter: Dr. Erin Hickey, MD

Kristi L. Kirschner, MD

Title:  Health professions disability curricula: if you build it, will they come?

Summary: In 1989, Kevin Costner in the film “Field of Dreams” made the phrase, “if you build it, they will come,” famous. His under-girding philosophy was that the investment itself i.e., in the creation of a baseball field in a remote Iowa cornfield would result in widespread usage. We ask the same question. If disability-inclusive health professions curricula were widely available, will it be used and result in culture change? For the last 3 years, a team of health professions educators at University of Illinois College of Medicine have been dedicated to testing this belief. With the help of an HRSA funding, we have been creating freely available curricula on a publicly facing website for a broad health professions audience. The presenters will share our approach e.g., our guiding principles, process, work products (see https://adih.uic.edu), and experience to date. We will engage our attendees in a discussion of the challenges of dissemination and usage.

Presented June 18th, 2026

Title: ADHCE 2026 Annual Conference & Presentations

Summary: The 17 scholarly presentations presented by 25-experts/scholars focused on disability health care education, collaboration, and advocacy. See this link of the Conference Schedule and full Presentation Guide below for guiding you through this amazing Conference lasting 4 hours and 32 mins. This is definitely disability healthcare curricula for professors to share with your students or clinicians to  inform you for best practice!

Click Here for the full 42 PAGE ADHCE 2026 Conference Presentation Guide.pdf

Presented May 7, 2026

Presenters: Dr. Arameh Anvarizadeh President, AOTA, Dr. Linda Rosa Lugo President, ASHA, and Dr. Skye Donovan Vice President, APTA

Title:  Enhancing Collaborative Healthcare Practice Across Disciplines via Interprofessional Education

Summary: The panel, featured representatives from AOTA, APTA, and ASHA, who collectively addressed the current requirements and delivery of Interprofessional Education (IPE) in their respective clinical fields. By sharing organizational strategies, achievements, and areas for growth, the speakers highlighted both the successes and challenges of interdisciplinary collaboration.  A not to be missed video!!!

Presented April 2, 2026

Presenter: Julie K. Campbell PhD

Title:  Promoting Health Equity for People with Disabilities Through Health Literacy and Supported Self-Management

Summary: Health literacy and supported self-management are important factors in advancing equitable, person-centered care for people with disabilities. Drawing on the Individual and Family Self-Management Theory, this presentation highlighted how health literacy—both personal and organizational—promotes shared decision-making and supported self-management. Implications for clinical practice, provider education, and health system design were discussed, along with key research priorities related to negotiated collaboration, caregiver involvement, and effective self-management for people with disabilities.

Presented March 5, 2026

Presenters: Allison F. Sullivan, DOT, MSOT, OTR/L, ECMH-E

Title: Designing for Coping and Recovery in Mental Health: How Interdisciplinary Teams Integrate Lived Experience, Cognition, and Environmental Context

Presented November, 2025

Presenters: Suzanne C. Smeltzer, EdD, RN, ANEF, Judith A. Stych, DNP, RN, CDDN

Title: Has Disability Curricula in Nursing Education Advanced? A Sneak Preview of a Replication Study

Summary: Drs. Smeltzer & Stych preview study findings: Inclusion of disability in nursing curricula: Replicating this study published by Dr. Smeltzer in 2005. Discussions and analysis of what changes may or may not have occurred since the 2005 publication. Multi-disciplinary audience participation will be encouraged as we examine efforts to assess progress and barriers in multiple healthcare disciplines and identify strategies to move disability curricula forward. Don’t miss dissemination of key organizations, toolkits, and publications that offer resources enabling multiple discipline educators to integrate disability education into disability healthcare curricula.

Presented June 2025

Title: ADHCE 2025 Annual Conference 

(12 presentations - 24 speakers)

Click link below for Full Schedule of  Speakers 

2025 Annual Conference Speaker Schedule (with time stamps) 

Presented May 1, 2025

Presenters: Carli Friedman, Lex Owen, Laura VanPuymbrouck

Title:  Artificial Intelligence (AI): Implications for Disability Research and Practice

Summary: Through ChatGPT and other Artificial Intelligence (AI) platforms, large language models’ (LLMs’) applications have expanded across daily life, including research and practice. Presenters discuss implications and concerns about use of AI in research, contextualizing these concerns within disability research.

Presented April, 2025

Presenters: Anne N. Junod, PhD, Susan Popkin, PhD, Nina Russell

Title:  Disability and Climate Disasters in Rural America

Summary: This presentation explores the compounded impacts of climate change and natural disasters on people with disabilities living in rural areas. Drawing from their recent policy brief, researchers from the Urban Institute highlight the unique challenges rural communities face—including limited infrastructure, lower emergency response capacity, and barriers in disaster policy. They also share promising models for inclusive emergency preparedness, data coordination, and partnerships between disability and climate planning sectors.

Presented February, 2025

Presenters: Dr Amanda Sharp PT, DPT, PhD, Dr. Cara Whalen Smith, PT, DPT, MPH, CHES, Ryan McGraw M.S.

Title: The Path to Anti-Ableist Transformation in Health Professions Education

Summary: Several chapter authors of "Dismantling Ableism in Interprofessional Medical Education to Promote Health Equity for People with Disabilities" from the book Reimagining Medical Education: The Future of Health Equity and Social Justice share their vision and framework for anti-ableist health professional education using the PATH Model (Path to Anti-ableist Transformation in Health Professions Education).

Presented January, 2025

Presenters: Presenters: Dianne Cooney-Miner PhD, RN, FAAN, Holly Brown, DNP, RN, PMHNP-BC

Title: Achieving Health Equity for Persons with I/DD Disability Interprofessional & Nursing Fellowships: Impact on Interprofessional/ Interdisciplinary Workforce

Summary: Dr Cooney-Miner and Dr. Brown discuss how we can better achieve health equity for people with I/DD (intellectual/developmental disabilities) through better preparation of the interdisciplinary health profession workforce. They emphasize the importance of building strong state, national, and international partnerships, sharing evidence-based best practices; and creating and supporting thought leaders in the area of disability healthcare and education through their 12 month virtual learning Golisano Institute Fellowship program.

Presented November, 2024

Presenter: Sarah Ailey, PhD, RN, CDDN, FAAN

Title:  End Diagnostic Overshadowing: Addressing Ableism in the Healthcare Context

Summary: Dr. Ailey’s presentation focuses on her newly awarded NIH-funded program, "End Diagnostic Overshadowing: Addressing Ableism in the Healthcare Context." Diagnostic overshadowing is a common issue in healthcare for individuals with disabilities, where symptoms are often misattributed to the person’s disability rather than being recognized as signs of a new or comorbid condition. This can lead to diagnostic errors and delays, exacerbating health inequities. The presentation includes a review of literature that highlights the pervasiveness of diagnostic overshadowing and its roots in ableism, as well as evidence of the diagnostic inequities people with disabilities face in healthcare. Dr. Ailey explains that the goal of the “End Diagnostic Overshadowing” program is to develop and implement strategies to reduce this phenomenon by understanding the mechanisms behind it and intervening with targeted supports 

Presented September, 2024

Presenters: Drs. Cara Whalen Smith, PT, DPT, MPH, CHES, Susan Havercamp PhD & Winston Kennedy PTD, MPH, PhD

Title:  Critical Perspectives of Health Care Education that Contribute to Health Inequities for People with Disabilities

Summary: Drs. Cara Whalen Smith, PT, DPT, MPH, CHES, Susan Havercamp PhD & Winston Kennedy PTD, MPH, PhD summarize their state and national work promoting anti-ableist practice among interdisciplinary professionals. Drs. Havercamp & Whalen Smith summarize their Ohio data collected from people with disabilities demonstrating the need for disability competence training and strategies to inform anti-ableist curricula in health professional training programs. Drs. Kennedy and Whalen Smith present national initiatives and models for the PT profession to promote anti-ableist training and clinical practice to change attitudes to work towards disability justice.

Presented February, 2024

Presenters: Ken Robey, Ph.D., CPPS, CPHQ, Linda Long-Bellil, Ph.D., J.D., Joan Earle Hahn, Ph.D., GCNS, GNP, CNL, CDDN

Title:  Cultural Competency and Disability Culture in Health Care Education

Summary: In 2013, six members of ADHCE, on behalf of the Alliance, published a commentary in Disability and Health Journal contending that: (1) cultural competency provides a useful conceptual framework for teaching students in the health professions about disability; (2) educational experiences can be structured to reflect the socio-cultural complexity of disability culture; and (3) we can define a set of desired culturally-based competencies with regard to the health care professional's approach to members of the disability culture. The paper further describes the use of an existing health care cultural competency framework in identifying competencies for serving patients who have disabilities. This presentation provides an overview of those competencies and address other key points of the paper, including the value of exposing students to the lived experience of persons with disabilities in their home environment, the need to consider multiple interacting cultural influences, and the impact of professionals' recognition of themselves as potential (or current) members of disability culture.

Presented November, 2023

Presenters: Andrés Gallegos, Chairman of the National Council on Disability (NCD)

Title:  The National Council on Disability: A Federal Voice for Health Equity Culture in Health Care Education

Summary:  Andrés Gallegos, Chairman of the National Council on Disability, address the Alliance for Disability in Health Care Education , emphasizing the council’s commitment to health equity for individuals with disabilities. He highlights the council's legislative advocacy, including advancing accessible medical diagnostic equipment standards and developing comprehensive disability clinical care curricula. Gallegos underscores the importance of integrating disability-focused education across all medical and allied health training programs, alongside efforts to address systemic disparities, such as inaccessible facilities and insufficient training of healthcare providers. He also reviews the council's historic and ongoing efforts, including the development of the Americans with Disabilities Act, policy work on dental care and guardianship, and recent health equity frameworks. Gallegos urges collaborative action and federal funding to ensure these initiatives address the needs of the 64 million Americans with disabilities, fostering a more inclusive healthcare system. The presentation series videos are hosted by the Center for Learning and Leadership| Oklahoma's federally-designated Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities.                                                                                We were fortunate to have Andrés Gallegos address the ADHCE the month before his untimely death. We will always miss his energy, wisdom, and drive for disability healthcare equity.