Welcome to the apha on-line submission process. Please read the general information first.
To help you determine which section to submit to, please read the specific instructions provided by the Sections, SPIGs and Caucuses.
General Information: To facilitate abstract processing, different deadlines have been set for each Section/SPIG/Caucus. Please note the deadline assigned to your area at Online Abstract Submission page.
Abstracts must be limited to 250 words unless another word limit is specified on the Call for Papers for the particular Section/SPIG/Caucus.
APHA encourages authors to submit abstracts on current and emerging public health issues. Information presented should not be published prior to the APHA Annual Meeting.
To be eligible for consideration, abstracts must be submitted by the deadline posted at the online submission web site. You will be notified by email of abstract status by June 1st, so a current email address MUST be provided.
To submit an abstract for consideration and presentation during the APHA Annual Meeting, you do not need to be an APHA member. However, if your abstract is accepted for presentation, the presenter MUST become an APHA individual member in good standing at the time of the meeting. In addition, the presenter MUST register for the Annual Meeting. Failing to do either of the aforementioned steps may result in not being permitted to present in the future at the APHA Annual Meeting.
Authors may submit their abstracts to only ONE Section, SPIG or Caucus. If your abstract is accepted, you (or a substitute presenter) are committed to making the presentation at the meeting. Review the list of Sections, SPIGs and Caucuses carefully to determine which one might be most approriate for you subject area. If you have specific questions about the relevance of your abstract to a specific Section, SPIG or Caucus, you may contact the appropriate Program Chair directly (contact information is provided).
Session Formats: A variety of instructional formats are used for presentation at the Annual Meeting.
Oral Presentation: Accepted reports, grouped by topic, are presented at 90 minute sessions. Authors will have 10-15 minutes to present their reports. Authors are encouraged to allot time for questions and comments from the audience. APHA will provide the following audio visual equipment to the Sections, SPIGs and Caucuses: an LCD projector, overhead projector and screen.
Poster: This meeting format is a visual presentation of recent findings combined with informal discussion between the presenters and the audience. Authors illustrate their findings by displaying graphs, photographs, diagrams and limited text on poster boards. Authors hold discussions with registrants who circulate among the poster boards. The poster boards measure six feet wide by 4 feet high, and each session last 90 minutes. Presenters are expected to remain by their board for the duration of the session. No audio visual equipment is permitted for this format.
Roundtable: This format allows for highly interactive, lively and informative presentations, with substantial opportunity for discussion with the audience, focusing on recent research findings, or innovative and controversial topics. Presented at 10-person tables, each presenter is assigned to a table and participants are able to move freely from one table to another at any time during the session. No audiovisual equipment can be used. There are a limited number of roundtable sessions, and only the program planner can select this format. No audio visual equipment is permitted for this format.
Film & Technology Theater is an environment for live presentations of information and computer technology applications for public health and for the showing of public health films and related audiovisuals. It is a fully equipped meeting room with Internet access, LCD projection capability, and theater-quality video projection and stereo audio and available for presenters who need to show a film or whose abstracts/sessions are technology-based and technology-dependent. All abstracts of papers to be considered for presentation in the Film & Technology Theater MUST be submitted to a Section, SPIG or Caucus for content review. Please check off the box on the submission form to indicate your presentation requires use of the Film & Technology Theater. See the
Call for Abstracts for more information on the Film & Technology Theater.
Technology dependent presentations will be shown in the morning sessions; public health films in the afternoon and evening sessions.
Abstract Evaluation:Abstracts are evaluated on the substance and clarity of content; relevance and timeliness in terms of public health practice/issues; specificity, practicality and clarity of educational objectives; appropriateness to session format, absence of bias related to a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with an organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in a session. Individual Sections, SPIGs or Caucuses may have additional evaluation criteria.
Guidelines for Entering a Paper Title:
All contributed abstract submissions, MUST include learning objectives. (See Guidelines for Writing Learning Objectives.)
For other required entries, please see Requirements.
All abstract submissions must include a completed Financial Disclosure Statement for EACH presenter/moderator or the submission will not be considered. (Co-authors are not required to submit a Financial Disclosure Statement .) See APHA policy on full disclosure