CALL FOR ABSTRACTS — 138th APHA Annual Meeting (November 6-10, 2010)

Caucus on Public Health and the Faith Community

Submission Deadline: Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Submit Abstract

The Caucus on Public Health and the Faith Community seeks to promote and enhance collaborations between communities of faith and all facets of the public health, addressing biological, physical, mental, emotional, environmental, spiritual and social health challenges. From this perspective, the CPHFC believes that public health interventions and research routinely goes beyond the borders of traditional public health practice.

Abstracts must be submitted via this website. THE FINAL DEADLINE FOR SUBMITTING ABSTRACTS TO THE CAUCUS HAS BEEN EXTENDED ONE LAST TIME TO 11:59 PM PST ON WEDESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2010. Abstracts will be peer-reviewed and considered for presentation at the 138th Annual Meeting of the American Public Health Association, to be held November 6-10, 2010, in Denver, CO. The theme for the 2010 meeting is " Social Justice: Public Health Imperative." Authors will be notified of the status of their abstracts by email in early-June 2010.

In relation to the 2010 APHA Call for Abstracts, the CPHFC encourages abstract submissions that emphasize faith-based collaborations and involvement in local, state, national, or transnational public health interventions. In addition to submissions that address the annual meeting theme, “Social Justice: Public Health Imperative”, we also request abstracts that focus on the following:
  • Evaluation of faith-based public health interventions
  • Evidence-based health promotion programs in communities of faith
  • Faith-based health programs that feature underrepresented faith traditions (e.g., Wicca, Bahá'í, Rastafari, Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, etc.) and/or ethnic groups (i.e., American Indian, Native Hawaiian, Guatemalan, Haitian, Laotian, Serbian, etc.)
  • Public health partnerships (i.e., academic, clinical, governmental) with communities of faith
  • Quantitative and qualitative research examining spirituality and health
  • Social justice and health equity interventions directed by faith-based organizations
  • Student-facilitated public health research and/or programs with spiritual or religious communities
WE ESPECIALLY ENCOURAGE COMMUNITY-BASED GROUPS AND STUDENTS TO SUBMIT.

The abstract word limit is 250 words. You must also include clear MEASURABLE learning objectives with your abstract submission. Learning objectives are not included in the word count.

AN EXPANDED SUMMARY MUST BE SUBMITTED WITH THE ABSTRACT. The purpose of the expanded summary is to provide additional information to help reviewers judge the relevance and quality of your work. It should not repeat the abstract material, but instead should provide complementary details about the work. The average length of an expanded summary is 500 words (maximum 2,000).

Abstracts should be submitted in a structured format. Please use one of the following two formats:
(1) STRUCTURED ABSTRACT FORMAT (suitable for abstracts on scientific research):
Background: Study objectives, hypothesis, or a description of the problem;
Methods: Study design, including a description of participants, procedures, measures, and appropriate analyses;
Results: Specific results in summary form; and
Conclusions: Description of the main outcome of the study.

(2) ALTERNATIVE FORMAT (suitable for abstracts about policy, programs, interventions, and other types of research evaluations):
Issues: A short summary of the issue(s) addressed;
Description: Description of the project, experience, service, or advocacy program;
Lessons Learned: A brief description of the results of the project; and
Recommendations: A brief statement of next steps.

Review Criteria: Standardized criteria will be used to evaluate all abstract submissions. These criteria include: (1) adherence to specified format as indicated under structured abstract format, (2) importance/originality, (3) quality and description of subject matter, (4) methodology or sound conceptual framework, (5) clarity of content, (6) quality and completeness of supporting data/philosophy, and (7) relevance to the focus of the Caucus on Public Health and the Faith Community. (NOTE: Incomplete abstracts will not be reviewed.)

Final Program: The session topics are preliminary and do not reflect the precise content of the final program. The final program will be based on the reviewers’ rating scores of each abstract proposal with consideration for available time and space, the program theme, and diversity of topics. Because of limited sessions and space, the programmers may not be able to accommodate your preference for presentation format (oral versus poster). Unless otherwise specified upon submission, your abstract will be considered for one of three presentation formats: oral, roundtable, or poster. For specific details on the format of each type of presentation, please visit the APHA Annual Meeting website for specific details (http://www.apha.org/meetings/sessions/HowtobecomeaPresenter.htm). However, if you will only present your abstract in your preferred format, please make note of this in the section “Comments to Programmers”. Topical sessions are determined based on accepted submissions. All topics related to the APHA Annual Meeting are encouraged.

Individuals should submit an abstract only if they are committed to presenting the paper or poster themselves or to finding a substitute willing to register, attend the meeting, and present the paper or poster instead. Invitations to present will be withdrawn should authors of awarded abstracts be unable to present at the Annual Meeting. Please refer to the abstract submission page for abstract submission guidelines (http://apha.confex.com/apha/138am/oasys.epl).

If presenting at the APHA Annual Meeting is contingent on receiving financial support, please do not submit an abstract – there is only limited space for presentations, and it is not fair to others to withdraw your abstract just before the APHA Annual Meeting because of lack of funds. Also note there are NO free or reduced registrations for presenters. Submitting an abstract to the Caucus on Public Health and the Faith Community implies that you understand the terms of this call for abstracts. Failure to adhere to the instructions outlined in the call for abstracts may result in your abstract not being considered and may impact future submissions.

Special Sessions: We welcome proposals for full sessions (90 minutes in length). In addition to the electronic online submission of an individual abstract for EACH of the 4-5 papers to be included in a Session, a one-page overview of the proposed Session MUST be submitted directly to Dr. Kimberly Coleman (kcoleman@georgiasouthern.edu), the Program Committee Co-Chair.

This one-page overview should include:
(1) Overall session title;
(2) Name of the lead facilitator and the contact person for the Session;
(3) Brief overview of the rationale for the Session; and
(4) List (in presentation order) of the individual abstracts to be organized into this Session, complete with titles, presenters' names, and time allocated for each presentation and any discussion periods.

Please note that each individual abstract to be included in a Session must be submitted through the APHA electronic abstract submission process. In the "Comments to Organizers" box for each abstract submission, the authors should indicate that the abstract is to be considered as part of the Proposed Session (indicated by Session title).

APHA Film and Technology Theatre: We also welcome abstract submissions for the APHA Film and Technology Theater. If you have documentaries, public service announcements, or other kinds of media related to the CPHFC, please send an email to Susan Mojaverian (seb56@drexel.edu) with the title, director, length of time, and media description.

Continuing Education Credit: APHA values the ability to provide continuing education credit to physicians, nurses and health educators at its annual meeting. Please complete all required information when submitting an abstract so members can claim credit for attending your session. These credits are necessary for members to keep their licenses and credentials.

For a session to be eligible for Continuing Education Credit, each presenter, panelist, discussant, and/or faculty must provide:
(1) an abstract free of trade and/or commercial product names;
(2) at least one MEASURABLE SINGLE objective (to understand or to learn are not measurable objectives and compound objectives are not acceptable);

Use ONLY the following Measurable Action Verbs:
Explain, Demonstrate, Analyze, Formulate, Discuss, Compare, Differentiate, Describe, Name, Assess, Evaluate, Identify, Design, Define or List.

3) A signed Conflict of Interest form with a relevant qualification statement;

Example of Acceptable Qualification Statement:
I am qualified to present because I oversee programs such as disease prevention, environmental and consumer safety and substance abuse prevention and treatment programs. I also served as an associate professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Clinical infectious Disease.

4) All continuing education learning content must be of sound science or professional practice and serve to maintain, develop, or increase the knowledge, skills and professional competence of the health professional. Learning content should be evidence-based if available. A list of over 30 areas will be provided online for you to choose from. You will be asked to choose at least one or up to 6 areas that your presentation will address.

Thank you for your assistance in making your session credit worthy. Contact Annette Ferebee at annette.ferebee@apha.org if you have any questions concerning continuing education. For program questions, contact the program planner listed below.

Those interested in promoting and enhancing collaborations between communities of faith and all facets of the public health are invited to join the CPHFC. All APHA members are invited to submit abstracts to the Caucus, and you do not have to be a member of the Caucus on Public Health and the Faith Community in order to submit an abstract. Please contact the program planners for more information about Caucus on Public Health and the Faith Community membership.
Submit Abstract

Program Planner Contact Information:
Kimberly M. Coleman, PhD, MPH, CHES
Dept. of Health and Kinesiology
Georgia Southern University
P.O. Box 8076
2117B Hollis Building
Statesboro, GA 30460-8076
Phone: 912-478-7666
Fax: 912-478-0381
kcoleman@georgiasouthern.edu

and
Susan Mojaverian, MSN, CNE
College of Nursing and Health Professions
Drexel University
1505 Race Street, MS 501
Philadelphia, PA 19102
Phone: 215 762-6486
Fax: 215-762-1259
seb56@drexel.edu