50th ABS Annual Conference: Full Schedule

You will be able to validate your attendance (Check-In to sessions) using your personal schedule.

9:00am EDT

Sexual Health Care and Education: Bridging the Gap between the Ideals of Baha’u’llah’s Revelation and Current Social Practices

LIMITED

Saturday August 8, 2026 9:00am - 10:15am EDT

215

Limited Capacity seats available

This presentation explores how core Bahá'í principles—the nobility of the individual, justice, equality of the sexes, chastity as spiritual empowerment, consultation and non-judgement—can inform compassionate, evidence-based, high-quality sexual health conversations, education, and clinical care. In our hypersexualized materialistic society, it has become necessary to shed light on these issues of sexuality, currently shrouded in shame and judgment. Drawing on our clinical and educational experiences, Bahá'í materials, and scientific evidence, we aim to discuss how we might bridge the gap between the light of Bahá’u’lláh’s Revelation and our current society’s practices.

Speakers

Nisha Kansal

Nisha Kansal is a family physician and women’s healthcare provider in Toronto. She has a longstanding interest in the health of individuals and communities marginalized by social structures, with a particular interest in the health of racialized migrants and women. With a strong... Read More →

Melody Rowhani

Melody Rowhani is a Primary Healthcare Nurse Practitioner with a Masters in Public Health. She has experience in family health teams and community health in Ottawa. She currently practices at a children’s hospital in adolescent health and in a sexual health clinic. She helped launch... Read More →

Brooke Talisman

Brooke Talisman is a mother to two teens, a Birth and Postpartum Doula, Childbirth Educator, Parenting Program Facilitator and Trauma and Violence Informed Practitioner. She currently works at a not-for-profit outreach centre for young parents as the Perinatal Program Facilitator... Read More →

Saturday August 8, 2026 9:00am - 10:15am EDT
215

Health, Breakout

9:00am EDT

Surfacing Assumptions in Public Health: A Concept Note Emerging from Collective Study, Writing, and Consultation

LIMITED

Saturday August 8, 2026 9:00am - 10:15am EDT

208

Limited Capacity seats available

We present a draft Public Health Concept Note designed for early-year university students to help clarify foundational concepts, surface tacit assumptions in the field, and support principled participation in public health discourses. The concept note synthesizes learning from five years of a public health reading group and a recent qualitative study, alongside insights from and consultations with the Bahá’í International Development Organization. The session will: (1) trace how the concept note was developed through collective study and consultation; (2) share its structure and pedagogical uses; and (3) include breakout groups to examine selected sections and explore diverse applications.

Speakers

Yovania Dechtiar

Yovania Dechitiar is a public health professional whose research interests include exploring the intersection of religion and public health, emphasizing the application of spiritual principles like the oneness of humanity to health policies and practices.

Gavin Grant

Applied researcher and analyst at the accelerated Disease Control and Surveillance Branch, Global Immunization Division, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, United States

Andrew Hatala

Andrew R. Hatala, PhD., is an Associate Professor in the College of Community and Global Health, University of Manitoba. Dr. Hatala conducts qualitative and community-based research in the areas of Psychological Anthropology, Medical Anthropology, Indigenous Health, and Community... Read More →

Anish Arora

Dr. Anish K. Arora is an Assistant Professor in the Community Population Public Health stream within the Department of Health Sciences at Wilfrid Laurier University.

Saturday August 8, 2026 9:00am - 10:15am EDT
208

Health, Breakout

about <br>

10:30am EDT

Beyond Certification: Raising up New Human Resources in Health Promotion

LIMITED

Saturday August 8, 2026 10:30am - 11:45am EDT

209

Limited Capacity seats available

Shortages in primary health care providers have driven efforts to identify new resources to support healthy patterns of life. Physician extenders and health promoters have demonstrated efficacy in fostering behavior change, but consistent funding to hire people into these roles has been elusive. Participants in this workshop will reflect on how other countries have addressed this need, hear about early experience with training volunteer youth health promoters, and consult on how insights gained from experience with the framework for action could be brought to bear on this challenge to health equity.

Speakers

Darius Loghmanee

I am a physician who works in pediatric sleep medicine. For the past eleven years I have been making efforts to build a population sleep health program drawing on elements of the framework for action described by the Universal House of Justice.

Saturday August 8, 2026 10:30am - 11:45am EDT
209

Health, Breakout

10:30am EDT

Cultivating Virtues at Work: A Collaborative Approach to Strengthening Connection, Meaning, and Communication

LIMITED

Saturday August 8, 2026 10:30am - 11:45am EDT

208

Limited Capacity seats available

In response to rising workplace stress and disengagement, a virtue-centered initiative was launched in January 2025 in a large state health department of over 2,000 employees. Developed with university researchers, the project explored whether intentionally naming, practicing, and affirming virtues could strengthen communication and morale. Introduced through a Public Health Grand Rounds, a year-long “virtue-of-the-week” practice encouraged reflection, team dialogue, and peer recognition. Mid-year survey data showed significant and meaningful gains in positive communication. The initiative was inspired by Bahá’í teachings emphasizing “pure and goodly deeds…commendable and seemly conduct.”

Speakers

Namvar Zohoori

Namvar Zohoori, MD, MPH, PhD is a retired professor of epidemiology, and former Chief Science Officer and Deputy State Health Officer at Arkansas Department of Health (ADH). He currently serves as Senior Public Health Advisor to the ADH. His professional work has focused on public... Read More →

Julien Mirivel

Ryan Fuller

Saturday August 8, 2026 10:30am - 11:45am EDT
208

Health, Breakout

2:00pm EDT

Consultation in Clinical Practice: From Patient-Centred Care to Shared Moral Agency in Dentistry

LIMITED

Saturday August 8, 2026 2:00pm - 3:15pm EDT

209

Limited Capacity seats available

Contemporary healthcare emphasizes patient-centred care, yet power imbalances and procedural communication often limit genuine partnership. This presentation proposes Bahá’í consultation as a framework that deepens patient-centred practice by reframing the clinician–patient relationship as a shared search for truth grounded in humility, dignity, and unity of purpose. Drawing on health communication literature and clinical examples from dentistry, the session explores how consultation can strengthen trust and ethical decision-making. Participants will engage in reflection on how these principles may be applied within their own professional contexts.

Speakers

Kion Hatam

Dr. Kion Hatam views his professional life as an avenue for contributing to collective well-being. His long-standing involvement in community service and mentorship reflects a commitment to social responsibility and accompaniment. In his work, he strives to foster growth in individuals... Read More →

Saturday August 8, 2026 2:00pm - 3:15pm EDT
209

Health, Breakout

3:30pm EDT

Spiritually Grounded Professionalism: Bahá’í Principles in Ethical Healthcare Practice and Policy

Saturday August 8, 2026 3:30pm - 4:45pm EDT

208

Healthcare professionals shape clinical practice, policy, and public discourse on health. Applying Bahá’í principles requires a spiritual framework rooted in service, consultation, and humility, without personal or partisan bias. This talk presents a Bahá'í approach to constructive professional engagement in healthcare: morally and spiritually grounded application of scientific knowledge and expertise, consultative decision-making, and shaping norms while avoiding partisan perspectives, offering a distinctive approach to social transformation in healthcare and health policy.

Speakers

Soha Sabeti

Soha Sabeti is an Epidemiologist, and is currently serving as the Manager of Health Surveillance at the First Nations Health Authority. Through her work, she has been able to marry her passions for public health, human rights, and the restoration of Indigenous health and wellness... Read More →

Saama Sabeti

Saturday August 8, 2026 3:30pm - 4:45pm EDT
208

Health, Breakout

about <br>

9:00am EDT

9:00am EDT

10:30am EDT

10:30am EDT

2:00pm EDT

3:30pm EDT

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