Call for Abstracts

2007 Pacific Global Health Conference
East-West Center, Honolulu, Hawaii
June 19 - 21, 2007

Abstracts are being sought for consideration for presentation at the 2007 Pacific Global Health Conference at the East West Center in Honolulu, Hawaii, June 19-21, 2007. Abstracts must be submitted electronically by 8:00 p.m., Hawaii Standard Time, February 9, 2007. Authors do not have to be a member of the Hawaii Public Health Association (HPHA) to submit an abstract, but if the submitted abstract is accepted, we REQUIRE that you be present at the conference to have your abstract included in the program.

Criteria for Acceptance of Oral and Poster Presentations: Authors should indicate whether the submitted abstract is for a poster or oral presentation. Oral presentations should not exceed 20 minutes total (it is recommended to allow 15 minutes for presentation and 5 minutes for Q&A). The abstract review committee may also recommend that some abstracts be included as panel presentations. Abstract authors must adhere precisely to the time requirements. Accepted abstracts will be available on the HPHA website one month prior to the conference and printed in the book of abstracts distributed at the conference.

Abstracts for both poster and oral presentations must address at least one of following three major theme areas:

Major themes include:

1. Health Workforce Training & Development
2. Evidence-based practice: What works in the Pacific?
3. Emerging Health Issues for the Pacific

Abstracts may be submitted for one of the two formats listed below (Oral or Poster):

1. Requirements for Submission of Abstracts for Oral Presentations

Abstracts for Oral presentations MUST contain the following:

Learning Objectives: All oral abstracts must include three concise statements of what conference attendees will learn from the presentation. (click here for examples)

Identification of the health issue: This should include a description of the type of data used to document the seriousness of the health issue, as well as a brief description of the decision-making process that was used to develop the described public health intervention of project.

A brief description of the project inputs: Examples of inputs may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Time spent training staff, conducting needs assessments or other research to help develop an intervention strategy
• Time spent participating in advocacy activities
• Direct program costs
• Time spent developing community-based or regional partnerships that can help address the identified health issue.

A brief description of outputs: Examples of outputs may include, but are not limited to:

• Number of individuals trained
• Increased use of preventive health services such as early screening programs or increased immunization coverage
• A measurable reduction in the incidence of a specific disease.

A brief description of Overall project benefits and lessons learned: Describe any additional benefits that have been brought about by the project or intervention, such as long term systems changes or policies, or leveraging funds or resources to address the problem. Note any major lessons learned in conducting the project, including strategies or approaches that did not work as planned.

2. Requirements for Submission of Abstracts for Oral Presentations

Abstracts for Poster presentations MUST contain:

Issues: a short statement summarizing the issue(s) addressed by the abstract;

Description: a brief description of the project, experience, service, research and/or advocacy;

Lessons learned: a brief description of the results of the project, particularly its relevance to the Pacific region;

Recommendations: a brief statement of future/next steps to be taken

Please adhere precisely to the following Abstract Submission Guidelines:

Submit one electronic copy as an attachment in Microsoft Word to pghc@hawaiipublichealth.org Authors must use the following guidelines:

• The title of the abstract should be listed at the top
• Indicate whether the abstract is for an oral or poster presentation
• The names of the authors should be listed below the title and the presenting author(s) should be underlined. List authors by first initial(s) followed by last name(s).
• In parentheses, list institutional affiliation, city, and state/jurisdiction/country for each presenting author (below list of author names)
• Prepare abstract in Microsoft Word, adhering to the formatting requirements outlined below.
• Do not include figures or tables in the abstract.
• Use "the authors" rather than "we" in the abstract.
• Avoid using acronyms.
• Do not use any formatting features in preparing the electronic submission such as bold, underline, italics, and do not use special characters or symbols such as a , b , ± , £ , or ³ . Write out Greek letters (alpha, beta, etc) and use, for example, +/-, <=, => to represent special characters or symbols. Necessary formatting and special characters or symbols will be added with editing.
• The abstract (including title, authors and affiliation of presenting author) must not exceed 600 words. NOTE: The character count can be checked in Microsoft Word.
• Use Arial font face 11 point.
• Use single line spacing.
• Separate paragraphs with 2 hard returns.
• Do not use full or right justification.
• All abstracts must be submitted in English.

You will receive notification to verify that your abstract has been received and will be considered for inclusion in the conference program.

If you are unable to submit your abstract via the HPHA’s website, please contact the Abstract Committee Chair at pghc@hawaiipublichealth.org. To be considered, your submission must include your abstract and all the required information on the abstract form.

Any submissions received after 8:00 p.m. Friday, February 9, 2007, Hawaii Standard Time, WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. The Conference Planning Committee reserves the right to edit or reject those abstracts not submitted in the proper format. Please refer to the examples provided on the HPHA website.

Selected abstracts not accepted for oral presentation may be accepted for presentation in poster form during a designated poster session. Authors will be required to be available for discussion of their work during the designated poster session, the timing of which will be confirmed when the program is finalized. Further instructions for presentation of posters will be given upon notification of acceptance.

Presenters will be notified of acceptance by March 25, 2007. Please note that presenters of accepted abstracts are required to register for the conference. HPHA cannot provide honoraria or reimbursement of expenses related to participation. Submission of an abstract implies a transfer of copyright for a possible abstract book or electronic posting.