HIV/AIDS

The HIV/AIDS Section of the American Public Health Association invites Abstracts and Full Session Proposals presenting the results of scientific research, program evaluations, policy analysis, and lessons learned from community-based interventions related to HIV/AIDS for the 135th American Public Health Association Meeting and Exposition to be held on November 3-7, 2007 in Washington, D.C.

The theme of the 2007 meeting is “Politics, Policy, and Public Health,” and Abstracts and Full Session Proposals that reflect this theme are particularly encouraged.

Abstracts may be submitted for oral, poster, or roundtable sessions. Submission of an abstract to the HIV/AIDS section is an expression of the presenting author’s intentions of attending the Annual Meeting and presenting the work should it be accepted. The following general topics are areas of interest for the 2007 program, although other HIV/AIDS-related topics also will be considered.

• Disparities
• HIV/AIDS Policy
• Prevention and Treatment
• Research
• Student Work
• Other HIV/AIDS Topic Areas

Subtopics for 2007 HIV/AIDS Program Call:

• Disparities
  
  
  
  • Racial and ethnic health disparities
    
  • LGBT disparities and discrimination
    
  • "Down-low" phenomena
    
  • Population-Specific Issues
    
    
    
    • Adolescents
      
    • Aging
      
    • Homeless
      
    • Incarcerated
      
    
    
  • HIV/AIDS Policy
    
    
    
    • Science Behind Policies
      
    • Celebrating Achievements and Future Challenges
      
    • Economic, Policy, and Financing Analyses
      
    • International HIV Policies
      
    • Partnerships
      
    • Funding and related issues
      
    
    
  • Prevention and Treatment
    
    
    
    • Community Collaborations, Planning, Programming, and Interventions
      
    • Access to Health Care, Services/Medications, Providers
      
      
      
      • Adherence issues
        
      • New Medicines/Therapies
        
      
      
    • Outreach
      
    • Mental Health and Substance Use
      
    • Depression
      
    • Severe mental illness
      
    
    
  • Research
    
    
    
    • Epidemiology and Surveillance
      
    • International HIV Prevention and Care (e.g., interventions, evaluations, and research)
      
    • Innovative Research Methods
      
    • Behavioral, Psychosocial, and Cultural Aspects of HIV/AIDS
      
      
      
      • Health education
        
      
      
    • Health communication
      
    • Sexual behavior/sexuality
      
    • Social environment
      
    
    
  • Student Work
    
  • Other HIV/AIDS Topic Areas
    
  
  

  Submission and Review: All Abstracts must be submitted electronically using the APHA Meeting website by the date published on the APHA website for the HIV/AIDS section. Late, faxed, and email submissions cannot be accepted. APHA will send email notices of acceptance to abstract authors in early June 2007.
  

  All Abstracts are subject to masked peer review by at least three reviewers. Please remove any references to a specific institution in the body of the abstract to permit masked review and ensure fairness. By submitting an abstract proposal, the author(s) agree that, if accepted, the paper will be presented as scheduled.
  

  Structured Abstract Format: Abstracts should be submitted in a structured format. Please use one of the following two formats:
  

  
  
  • Background: Study objectives, hypothesis, or a description of the problem;
  
  
  • Methods: Study design, including a description of participants, procedures, measures, and appropriate statistical analyses;
  
  
  • Results: Specific results in summary form; and
  
  
  • Conclusions: Description of the main outcome of the study.
  
  

  An alternative format, suited for abstracts about policy, programs, interventions, and other types of research evaluations, may be used:
  

  
  
  • 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) innovation and relevance, (3) rigor and appropriateness of methods and approaches, (4) contribution to science and/or practice, and (5) results/lessons learned. Note that incomplete abstracts will not be judged.
  

  Final Program: The final program will be based on peer-reviewer evaluations of the abstract proposals with consideration for available time and space, the program theme, diversity of topics, and any speakers invited by the HIV/AIDS Section leadership to participate in the 2007 program.
  

  Only listed authors who are both APHA members and registered for the Annual Meeting may present accepted work. Neither APHA nor the HIV/AIDS Section provides any financial support for author attendance at the Annual Meeting.
  

  Student Presentations: Presentations by students are encouraged. Although completed research studies are preferred, students may submit work-in-progress for consideration.
  

  Instructions for Full Session Proposals: Submissions of Proposals For Full Sessions (90 minutes in length) may be submitted. In addition to the electronic online submission of an individual abstract for EACH of the 3-5 papers to be included in a Session, a one-page overview of the proposed Session MUST be submitted directly to the planner via electronic mail to: hkc3@psu.edu. This one-page overview should include:
  

  
  
  • Overall session title;
  
  
  • Name of the lead facilitator and the contact person for the Session;
  
  
  • Brief overview of the rationale for the Session; and
  
  
  • List (in presentation order) of the individual abstracts to be organized into this Session, complete with titles, presenters' name, 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).
  

  All abstracts are reviewed on their individual merit, and the acceptance of a panel submission is not a guarantee that all abstracts submitted for that session will be accepted or that they will all be scheduled together. Unless instructed otherwise, the HIV/AIDS Section Program Committee will consider the individual abstracts from any rejected Full Session for possible presentation in Abstract sessions. Therefore, an abstract submitted as part of a Full Session should not also be submitted as an individual contributed abstract to any other section, interest group or caucus.

Program Planner Contact Information:
Heather Cecil, PhD
Department of Psychology
Penn State University, Capital College
777 W. Harrisburg Pike
W157 Olmsted
Middletown, PA 17050
Phone: 717-948-6533
hkc3@psu.edu

and
Michael Reece, PhD
Dept of Applied Health Science
Indiana University-Bloomington
1025 E. 7th St
HPER 116
Bloomington, IN 47405
Phone: (812) 855-0068
Fax: (812) 855-3936
mireece@indiana.edu

and
Scott Rhodes, PhD, MPH, CHES
Social Sciences and Health Policy
Wake Forest University School of Medicine
Public Health Sciences
Medical Center Boulevard
Winston-Salem, NC 27157-1063
Phone: 336-713-5080
Fax: 336-716-7554
srhodes@wfubmc.edu