2026 Digital Health Symposium

2026 Digital Health Symposium: Reimagining Care Through Interactive Technologies

Join us for the 2026 Digital Health Symposium hosted by Nationwide Children's Hospital. This one-day event focuses on how people leverage interactive digital health technologies to innovate in clinical research, clinical care, education, and more - ultimately improving patient experience and outcomes. The symposium highlights the design, development, and impact evaluation of novel, interactive digital health solutions ranging from mobile and web applications and chatbots to highly immersive extended reality (XR) applications. 

This event brings together clinicians, researchers, designers, technologists, and industry partners to explore how thoughtfully designed digital tools can improve care delivery, care adherence, patient experience, and health outcomes. Attendees will gain practical insights into real-world implementations, research findings, and best practices for integrating digital health technologies into clinical and operational workflows.

We are honored to welcome Dr. Kimberly Hieftje (Yale School of Medicine, USA) as our 2026 keynote speaker. Additional featured speakers will represent leading academic, clinical, and industry institutions. 

Topics will include:

• User experience, engagement, and human-centered design in digital health 

• Novel development and applications of interactive and immersive technologies 

• Real-world digital health technology implementation considerations and strategies 

• Impact capture and evaluation frameworks and methodologies 

The day will also feature a main-stage abstract session and interactive exhibits, offering hands-on opportunities to explore digital health tools, share research and use cases, and connect with peers across disciplines. 

Whether you are developing, implementing, studying, or exploring digital health technologies, this symposium offers a unique opportunity to learn, connect, and contribute to a growing community focused on meaningful user-technology interaction in health care. 

AGENDA 

Be part of the conversation shaping the future of digital health. The symposium will bring together thought leaders, innovators, and practitioners to explore emerging trends, share real-world insights, and spark meaningful collaborations.

While our full agenda is still taking shape, attendees can expect engaging presentations, cutting-edge perspectives, and valuable networking opportunities with peers across the industry. Secure your spot now to ensure you don’t miss this forward-thinking event.

Registration Rates

Early Bird Registration $200 (Ends July 31, 2026)

Regular Registration $250 (Ends September 16, 2026)

Cancellation Policy

Cancellations received in writing no less than 20 days before the course will be refunded, less a 20% administrative fee. No refunds will be made on cancellations received after that date. Please send cancellation requests to [email protected] 

Nationwide Children's Hospital reserves the right to cancel or postpone this program if necessary; in the event of cancellation, course fees will be fully refunded. We are not responsible for other costs incurred such as non-refundable airline tickets or hotel penalties.

Accessibility Statement
 
Nationwide Children's Hospital is committed to ensuring that its programs, services, goods and facilities are accessible to individuals with disabilities as specified under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act of 2008.  If you have needs that require special accommodations, including dietary concerns, please contact the CME Conference Coordinator.

Mitigation of Relevant Financial Relationships

Nationwide Children's Hospital adheres to the ACCME’s Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education. Any individuals in a position to control the content of a CE activity, including faculty, planners, reviewers or others are required to disclose all relevant financial relationships with ineligible entities (commercial interests). All relevant conflicts of interest have been mitigated prior to the commencement of the activity.

Wednesday, September 23, 2026

On behalf of Nationwide Children's Hospital, we invite you to exhibit on September 23, 2026 at the 2026 Extended Reality (XR) Symposium.  This one-day event is dedicated to exploring the transformative potential of extended reality (XR) in research and healthcare. This year’s symposium will bring together clinicians, researchers, educators, developers, and innovators from across the United States and beyond to share cutting-edge projects, foster collaboration, and inspire the future of immersive technology in pediatric and clinical settings. If you are interested in joining us, please complete the 3-STEP REGISTRATION process listed below.

Step 1: Click "Exhibitor" and then "Exhibit at this Event" and it you will be lead through the registration and payment process.

Step 2: Pay online or send a check to the address listed on the next step (the exhibitor agreement).

Step 3: Once step 1 is complete, please download this exhibitor agreement to complete the registration process and confirm your participation. Once it is filled out and the last page is signed, please email it to [email protected]

** Note: Exhibitors will be accepted on a first come first serve basis, with all of the registration steps completed. 

If you would like, please click here to virtually view our Conference Center space.

Are you researching innovative ways people interact with digital technologies in healthcare, research, or education? 

We want to hear from you! 

We invite abstract submissions for a chance to present a 15-minute main-stage talk (10 minutes to present, followed by 5 minutes of Q&A) at the 2026 Digital Health Symposium. This is an opportunity to showcase your work, share lessons learned, and engage a diverse audience of clinicians, researchers, designers, and technologists.

We welcome abstracts that explore user-centered design, engagement, experience, and workflow integration across digital health technologies-including XR, mobile and web applications, conversational agents (chatbots), and other interactive tools. Whether your work is improving patient care, enhancing education or training, streamlining clinical workflows, or advancing research through digital solutions, we encourage you to submit. 

We look forward to learning from your ideas and working together to shape the future of user-centered digital health. 

Abstract Submission Guidelines:

• Eligibility:

Abstracts containing research or innovative uses of digital health technologies, such as mobile apps, chatbots, virtual/augmented reality, and other UX/XI technologies can be submitted. Topics may include, but not limited to:

• Clinical Applications of Digital Health Technologies 
• Digital Health in Medical Education & Training
• Digital Health to Improve User Experience and Engagement 
• Digital Health Innovation & Implementation 
• Digital Health Research & Evaluation 
• Digital Health Intervention Design & Development  

• Deadline- Monday, August 3, 2026

• Formatting:
• Abstract titles may not be longer than 2500-3000 characters, including spaces. Identifying information like author or institution names must not be included in the title.
• Abstracts should be structured under the following headings: Background, Methods, Results, and Conclusion.
• There is limit of 500 words, for the abstract text. Information included in tables or images does not count toward this limit.
• Most text document formats are acceptable, including PDF and docx. Abstracts may include up to two images. Maximum file size is 8MB.
• Any author wishing to include a table with their abstract must submit the table as an image file type.
• Authors are responsible for obtaining any necessary image permissions for inclusion in their abstracts. 
  
  
  
• Presentation rules:
• Presenters must present in person
• Submission of an abstract constitutes a commitment by the author(s) to register and present the abstract (if selected for presentation) at the date, time and location specified in the acceptance notification
• Abstracts may be presented only by authors listed in the author string at the time of submission
• All presentations will be in English
• The corresponding author certifies that all authors named in the abstract have agreed to its submission for presentation; that any animal studies conform with the October 2014 revision of The Guiding Principles in the Care and Use of Vertebrate Animals in Research and Training by the American Physiological Society; and that any human experimentation conducted conforms with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki of the World Medical Association, and meets all the requirements governing informed consent of the country in which the research was performed.
• By submitting an abstract, the corresponding author affirms that their co-authors have participated sufficiently in the intellectual content, the analysis of data and the writing of the abstract to take public responsibility for it
• Corresponding authors affirm that they and the other authors submitting an abstract certify that the data included in their abstract submission and/or presented is truthful, original, unduplicated and without fraud or fabrication