Energizing Health @ SXSW Online 2021 brings together an historic digital gathering of passionate health equity advocates to work on problems in the post-COVID19 world. Energizing Health creates opportunities and connects partners to make health more fair and equitable for everyone, starting with people facing disproportional injury during the pandemic.
Thursday, March 18th | Post-Pandemic Health Programming
Zooming along virtually: racism, equity and health
March 18, 2021 @ 10:00 am – 11:00 am by HealthTech4Medicaid
Human beings are social creatures. Due to COVID-19, feelings of social isolation are on the rise with older adults and people with disabilities hit especially hard. Social isolation and loneliness pose serious health risks including heart disease, diabetes, and depression. As the pandemic continues, we need to establish effective interventions to reduce social isolation and loneliness. In this session, we’ll explore the growing “loneliness epidemic” and hear from panelists with novel solutions.

reimagining care: the intersection of tech & touch
March 18, 2021 @ 10:30 am by Home Instead
Technology has emerged as an essential enabler in bringing the health care ecosystem into the home. A few decades ago, the home care industry was non-existent. Today, the home care industry is a multi-billion dollar industry and one of the fastest growing sectors for employment opportunities around the globe. Our massive aging society demands innovation that artfully and seamlessly integrates high-tech with high-touch. The full potential of technology in the home is untapped. This panel will explore how other industries have balanced technology with human interaction, including human centered design, and highlight the many innovations that are transforming aging and the future of care.

Caring for the Caregiver: Are we doing enough?
March 18, 2021 @ 11:00 am by Home Instead
Family members and professional caregivers are the backbone of home-based care for seniors, children and individuals with disabilities and chronic conditions. Oftentimes, family members and providers are not adequately supported (emotionally, mentally, and physically) through their caregiving experience, which often leads to decreased morale and lack of productivity known as the second victim phenomenon. Learn how innovative payor source strategies, social communities, employer sponsored programs, and digital breakthroughs are supporting caregivers, and the individuals who receive care. This panel will also discuss how employers are recruiting and training a new diverse caregiving workforce, better supporting working caregivers, and establishing comprehensive family leave strategies.

To a Century and Beyond!
March 18, 2021 @ 11:30 am by Home Instead
According to the World Health Organization, the proportion of the global population of aged 60 will double from 11% in 2006 to 22% by 2050. From the Blue Zone to the Silver Tsunami, there is no dispute that people are living longer. How people age is coming into question and is mounting pressure around the globe for public health efforts to promote health and well-being for people throughout their aging journeys. This spike in life expectancy will impact the affordability and design of housing, employment opportunities, transgenerational connection and transportation options. Learn how community advocates, policy makers, and startups are creating healthy longevity services and aging well communities.

Beyond the Burden: Disparities in End of Life Care
March 18, 2021 @ 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm by Home Instead
How can we ensure that all people, regardless of gender, race, age, socioeconomic status or language have access to quality end of life care? Physician biases, systemic barriers and patient disenfranchisement lead to inadequate pain treatment, miscommunication and cost burdens on families during their most vulnerable times. Learn about the key roles providers, organizations, family members and activists play in end of life advocacy and how leading care providers are blazing new paths forward.

Quiet Health Risk: Loneliness in Seniors
March 18, 2021 @ 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm by Home Instead
Despite advances in innovation and technology and the increasing “connectedness” that’s brought, we are lonelier than we have ever been, including in seniors. The detrimental health effects of isolation is likened to heavy smoking, or as seen through the COVID-19 pandemic, widespread death. Community programs, social media and initiatives from the global health ecosystem are helping to identify and connect isolated seniors to one another, to youth, to care providers and the community at large.

Anti-Racism in Cancer Care
March 18, 2021 @ 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm by Cambia Health Foundation
Oncologists are good people doing good work – how can racism be a problem in cancer care? How do we know it’s a problem? Is it really a problem? The unprecedented events of 2020, also called the twin pandemic of COVID-19 and racial injustice, sparked recognition that systemic racism persists in many of our institutions, including health care. Learn from this panel of oncologists and Sojourns Scholars on their work to listen, learn and do what is right for systemic change to occur, including innovating the way doctors communicate.

New Administration, New COVID-19 Federal Datasets
March 18, 2021 @ 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm by Careset
The Community Profile Report, a frequently updated national report detailing multiple data streams related to the COVID-19 pandemic, is transforming under the Biden Administration. Learn what this transformation means in relation to transparency of information to the public, and what to expect in data as the roll-out of the vaccines continues. This gathering includes Kevin Duvall, Health and Human Services (HHS) Deputy Chief Data Officer, Fred Trotter, CTO of CareSet and data journalism friends.

Friday, March 19th | Post-Pandemic Health Programming
The Social Isolation Interrupters
March 19, 2021 @ 10:00 am – 11:00 am by United Way
Human beings are social creatures. Due to COVID-19, feelings of social isolation are on the rise with older adults and people with disabilities hit especially hard. Social isolation and loneliness pose serious health risks including heart disease, diabetes, and depression. As the pandemic continues, we need to establish effective interventions to reduce social isolation and loneliness. In this session, we’ll explore the growing “loneliness epidemic” and hear from panelists with novel solutions.

Postpartum Probability: Maternal Health Justice
March 19, 2021 @ 12:00 pm by HealthTech4Medicaid
U.S. rates of maternal mortality are the highest in the developed world. The data is stained by racial disparities and structural racism, with Black and American Indian/Alaska Native women dying more than 3 times more often than white women. We must reshape financial and care delivery systems and advocate for racial justice within medical education and national policies. This conversation will dive into preventing death: before, during, and after pregnancy, and throughout women’s lifespans.

Grandma is an Influencer: Seniors on Social Media
March 19, 2021 @ 11:30 pm by Home Instead
Seniors are socializing on Facebook, influencing on Instagram, and trending on TikTok. Trailblazing new approaches for staying involved, building new and existing relationships, connecting more deeply with their communities to increase the energetic well being of their communities. This usage has increased exponentially due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Hear from panelists who are using the social media platforms to confront ageism with creative thoughts, ideas and action!

Health Equity through Coordinated Care
March 19, 2021 @ 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm by United Way
Since the onset of COVID-19, health disparities have become more glaring. Many communities are leveraging networks of coordinated care backed by cloud technology to address social determinants of health, reduce barriers to care and improve outcomes for marginalized communities. We’ll learn how one community used coordinated care to address health disparities for black women and infants and hear community-based approaches to addressing health equity using innovative tech and care coordination.
