In March, Leslie Waldman was busy planning A Woman’s Journey (AWJ) — the annual fall conference on women’s health — when fears about the escalating coronavirus pandemic “changed everything.”

“We immediately pivoted and created a free six-part Zoom series on COVID-19,” says the longtime director of consumer and physician engagement for Johns Hopkins Medicine (JHM). Despite a few technical glitches, the widely publicized virtual event attracted more than 10,000 participants from 49 countries.

The six-week program, which began in April, featured experts on various aspects of the pandemic. They discussed stress and social isolation; vulnerability among children; how the virus affects people medically; self-care and mindfulness; health disparities; and the virus’s emotional toll, which sometimes leads to domestic violence, post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide.

“It was exhilarating to see so many people from across the world tune in,” Waldman says.

Now, she and her staff have created a format for a virtual AWJ. Scheduled for Nov. 7, the customary six-hour program will become a two-hour event about women’s health that is based on faculty recommendations and consumer surveys. The program will cost $25. (Normally, the event is held at a hotel in Baltimore and costs $145, which includes breakfast and lunch.)

The conference, titled “An Extraordinary Journey for Extraordinary Times,” will offer JHM physicians’ insights on eight topics, including the potential benefits of intermittent fasting; reducing the impact of chronic inflammation; red flags for heart disease in women; the prevalence of fibroid tumors among Black women; and managing stress and anxiety (see sidebar for more details).

Keynote speakers are Sherita Golden, Johns Hopkins vice president and chief diversity officer, who will talk about addressing racism and health disparities for women of color, as well as her personal journey as a Black woman in medicine; and Lisa Maragakis, senior director of infection prevention at Johns Hopkins, who will discuss COVID-19’s persistent threat and how it has transformed her professional and personal life.

Participants can choose one of eight live seminars and, following the event, will have on-demand access to the other sessions Admission also includes an e-program book and an AWJ coffee mug. Although the format is different this year, employees can still earn continuing education credits from several professional organizations (see sidebar).

National AWJ chair Kelly Geer Ripken will host the program. In a letter to conference participants, she stresses the need to keep women informed about their health. “This is no time to abandon our goal (to improve well-being through health education), even as we struggle to overcome the pandemic, eliminate health disparities, triumph over racism and pursue social justice.”

Although some attendees may miss the in-person, social aspects of the usual daylong conference, Waldman hopes the short virtual format will attract many more participants.

“The pandemic remains a challenge,” she says, “but we’re committed to providing important, timely information about women’s health.”