2025 Conference Session & Poster Submissions

Our 2025 New England Rural Health Association Annual Conference promises to be our biggest and most exciting ever. This year we are thrilled to return to Connecticut at the Mystic Marriott in Groton, Connecticut. This is the perfect opportunity to reconnect, network, learn about emerging best practices, showcase your work and reach an audience of 400 rural health professionals!

Breakout Session Submissions:


This year’s conference theme - Rural Health in a Changing World - will explore the challenges and opportunities of ensuring that rural health remains adaptable, resilient, and responsive in an era of rapid change. As policies, technologies, and community needs evolve, rural healthcare professionals must navigate new landscapes while maintaining high-quality, accessible care. We welcome presentation proposals that examine the shifting realities of rural health across clinical, community-based, research, policy, education, and other settings. Share your strategies for embracing change, overcoming barriers, and implementing innovative solutions that will strengthen the health and well-being of New England’s rural communities—now and for the future. 

We are actively seeking student presentation proposals. This is the ideal venue to showcase your rural health research, internship, community-based program, or other work. For years, the NERHA conference has been a steppingstone for students who move on to publish and present on the national stage. It can all start here! 

Building on last year’s feedback, we will again pair proposals with similar themes into joint sessions and add a few different types of sessions for proposal. Expand each section for detailed information.

The NERHA Conference Committee will review all abstract submissions and invite selected presenters to a presentation block.  

  • These sessions will feature two related presentations, each about 20-25 minutes long, with 15-20 minutes following both presentations for discussion and questions. The NERHA conference committee will pair sessions together at their discretion.  

  • These sessions will feature a standalone presentation led by an individual or a team, or a panel facilitated by a moderator. Presenters will have the opportunity to share research findings, best practices, innovative solutions, or case studies in a structured format. Sessions are one hour long with 45-50 minutes for presentation and 10-15 minutes for questions at the end. For single sessions, we prioritize panel sessions that bring together multiple experts to discuss a key topic, challenge or trend, with a moderator to guide the conversation ensuring diverse perspectives and audience participation. 

  • A Facilitated Discussion Session is a highly interactive format that focuses on conversation and knowledge exchange rather than traditional presentations. A facilitator will lead the session by posing key questions, encouraging audience participation, and guiding dialogue (in large and/or small groups) around shared challenges and solutions. Sessions are one hour long.

  • An Interactive Workshop is a hands-on, participatory session designed to engage attendees in problem-solving, skill-building, or strategic planning. Facilitators will use exercises, group activities, and real-world scenarios to create an immersive learning experience. This format is ideal for fostering collaboration and practical application of knowledge. Sessions are one hour long.

Breakout Session Submission Information:

  • Behavioral & Mental Health  

    Oral Health 

    Leadership 

    Human Services 

    Workforce 

    EMS/EMT/First Responder 

    Maternal and Child Health  

    Telehealth and Rural Technology Strategies  

    Social Determinants of Health 

    Public Health Emergency and/or Disaster Preparedness Response  

    Philanthropy 

    Population Health 

    Policy Issues 

    Tribal & Native, Aging, Veteran, & other Populations 

    Environmental, Climate, & Energy Resilience 

    Blended and Braided Funding 

    Fiscal Sustainability 

    Strength and Asset-Based Strategies 

    Billing and Coding Strategies 

    Migrant Health 

    Interprofessional Collaboration 

    Education 

    Careers in Healthcare 

    Substance Use Prevention / Harm Reduction 

    Quality Improvement 

    Patient-Centered Care 

    Sexual & Reproductive Health 

The following information will be required in your submission: (i.) session title, (ii.) short and long description of presentations, (iii.) learning objectives, (iv.) general information regarding the speaker(s) including: name(s), emails, addresses, phone numbers, role/title, and affiliated organization.

Please Note: You will want to have your information ready before starting the application because you will need to complete your entire submission in one sitting. You will not be able to edit your proposal online after you submit. If you need to modify your proposal after submission, please contact our administrative support team at admin@newenglandrha.org.


Session Submission Deadline: May 16th 


The Session Proposals will be reviewed by the NERHA Conference Committee, and their decisions regarding selections will be shared in mid-June 2025. The conference registration fee will be discounted for up to two registered speakers per presentation. If your proposal is accepted, the information provided in your proposal may be used in conference promotional materials, including, but not limited to, emails, social media posts, website, and/or mailings. Information will also be included in the conference program and app.

Poster Proposals:

Are you working on a program, project or research related to rural health sustainability that you would like to share with conference attendees? If so, we encourage you to submit a poster proposal. Selected posters will be displayed throughout the conference, with a dedicated time slot for attendees to interact directly with you to hear details about your poster. This is an ideal way for students and others to participate who may not have the time to develop a full presentation. We encourage academic posters such as original research and we also welcome less formal posters about special programs or projects.  

We will have materials to display your poster and ask that your poster be no more than 24x36 inches. It must also be printed on foam core board. 

Poster Submission Information:

Please Note: You will want to have your information ready before starting the application because you will need to complete your entire submission in one sitting. You will not be able to edit your proposal online after you submit. If you need to modify your proposal after submission, please contact our administrative support team at admin@newenglandrha.org.

If your proposal is accepted, the information provided in your proposal may be used in conference promotional materials, including, but not limited to, emails, social media posts, website, and/or mailings. Information will also be included in the conference program and app.

Important Additional Poster Information:

We ask that posters be sent to the event location prior to the conference. If you are unable to send your poster in advance of the conference, we will ask you to take responsibility for hanging your poster with mounting materials that will be provided to you. Poster authors will be responsible for removing their poster at the end of the conference.

A minimum of one author of each poster will be required to register for the full conference.  Note: Poster speakers do not receive the speaker discount. Students who cannot attend may send their poster with a faculty member who is attending the conference.

You will also be asked to send in a final PDF file that will be shared on our website to our virtual attendees.

If you have any questions or concerns at all, please contact our administrative support team at admin@newenglandrha.org.

Submit Early!  

We will have rolling approval and a cap of 25 accepted posters.