Statistics

 Submit Abstract
The Statistics Section invites you to submit individual abstracts, groups of abstracts (Special Interest Sessions), and student abstracts (Student Paper Session) for the 2007 APHA Annual Meeting in Washington, DC (November 3-7, 2007). You can submit your abstract online anytime between December 18, 2006 and February 6, 2007.

This is the year in which our Section reaches the 100th year since founding, along with the Health Administration Section. Moreover, the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. Thus, in addition to our usual list of primarily statistical methodologic topics, we are interested in papers that
  1. show the role that statistical methods have played in any of the major innovations in public health during the last 100 years;

  2. suggest possible challenges for statisticians in helping to address the most important public health challenges that we will face during the next 100 years;

  3. show innovative applications of statistical methodology to current public health problems, especially where the level of collaboration between the statistician and the lead investigators is particularly deep;

This means that our interests are broader than usual this year--You don't need to be a member of our section, or a professional statistician, to submit a paper of interest through the Statistics Section. We are particularly interested in papers matching one of the above areas of interest that are well-integrated with the theme of the 2007 Annual Meeting, which is "Politics, Policy, and Public Health".

Several other Sections have expressed their interest in co-sponsoring or jointly sponsoring sessions with us. These include (but will not be limited to) Epidemiology, Food and Nutrition, Health Administration, and Maternal and Child Health.

Finally, the Statistics Section would welcome the opportunity to sponsor or jointly sponsor a session to celebrate the contributions of NHIS to public health over its entire 50-year history. If you are interested in developing such a session, or have suggestions, please email Martin Weinrich at statpapers2007@bellsouth.net.

For further information or to submit suggestions (which are always welcome) contact Martin Weinrich by phone (706-721-6792) or email (statpapers2007@bellsouth.net).

List of Session Topics
  • Applications of Statistical Methods to GIS-Based Analyses of Public Health Problems
  • General Methods and Topics; Special Sessions
  • Health Survey Research Methodology and Applications
  • Healthy People 2010: How Well Are We Doing?
  • Innovation in Biostatistical Methods and Applications
  • Lowell Reed Lecture; Spiegelman and Statistics Section Awards
  • Measurement Issues and Multilevel Analyses for Public Health Program Evaluation
  • Meta-Analysis and Evidence-Based Public Health Practice
  • Modeling Techniques for Health Outcomes Research
  • Obesity, Diabetes, Nutrition: Statistical Challenges, New Methodology for Program Evaluation
  • Public Health Applications of Multilevel Research Designs
  • Statistical Issues in Evaluation of Quality of Life
  • Statistical Methodology
  • Statistical and Epidemiologic Software
  • Statistics Section Business Meeting and Social Hour
  • Statistics Section Council Meeting (Closed)
  • Student Paper Session
  • The National Health Interview Survey: 50 Years of Progress
This list of topics will surely undergo modification between now and the Annual Meeting. So even if your research does not fit neatly into one of them, simply submit it under the heading "General Methods and Topics; Special Sessions".

We welcome papers on other topics of relevance to statistics in public health, particularly where they (1) focus on how statistics is used (or was used) to help develop and implement important public health interventions, or (2) show close teamwork between statisticians and other public health professionals.

We also remain interested in new information systems and database methodologies and applications for collecting, storing, mining and analyzing large public health survey, administrative, and medical databases.

If you are submitting an abstract that is linked with other abstracts in a joint session, submit the abstract on-line, but also notify Martin Weinrich (Program Chair) at statpapers2007@bellsouth.net of the group of abstracts to which yours belongs.
Individual Abstract Submissions

Submit individual abstracts according to the on-line instructions. (Non-students need submit only an abstract; enter "N/A" where a summary is requested.) We will judge the abstract on your clarity of presentation, originality, methodology and contribution to the field of statistics. The highest rated abstracts, based on blinded peer review, are generally selected and placed in sessions according to the overall program plan.

Oral presentations at contributed sessions are usually fifteen minutes in length. Presenters at poster sessions should display their work and be available to answer questions throughout their scheduled 90-minute session. We will take your preference for oral versus poster presentation into consideration, but the Program Committee considers every abstract for both oral and poster presentation. You should submit material only if you are committed to presenting the paper or poster personally, or will find a substitute who will register, attend the meeting and present your paper or poster.

Student Research Session

The Statistics Section is also accepting abstract submissions for a student research session. Students wishing to be considered for this session should submit online an abstract and also a 2-page summary of the paper. The author must be a member of the Statistics Section. A letter from a faculty member attesting to the author's student status must also be provided to the Program Chair. If you run into trouble submitting your two-page summary through the official APHA website, just e-mail it to statpapers2007@bellsouth.net.

Special Interest Session Proposals

The Statistics Section also invites the submission of proposals for special interest sessions pertinent to "Politics, Policy, and Public Health", which of course is the theme of the 134th Annual Meeting. You should submit individual abstracts for a Special Interest Session according to the on-line instructions. If you would like to organize such a session, please send a description of your proposal to Martin Weinrich at statpapers2007@bellsouth.net (if possible, (in advance of submitting your abstracts!) Once it is approved, we'll create a session slot for you that will appear in the final sessions list, and ultimately, in the Meeting Program.

In your proposal, please include
  1. the organizer's full mailing address, e-mail address, telephone and fax numbers;
  2. session title;
  3. a brief (1-2 pages) overview describing the purpose, relevance and importance of the proposed session;
  4. topics and participants, including the proposed presiders(s), titles of each presentation, full names of all authors, with full names of presenters underlined (as in the on-line abstract);
  5. a time schedule within the session (begin the session at 0:00 hrs and end it at 1:30).
A presentation at a Special Interest Session may be up to 30 minutes in length. We suggest that Special Interest Sessions allow time for a discussant.

Review of Special Interest Sessions

All Special Interest Session proposals and abstracts will be peer reviewed. All abstracts will be evaluated on their individual merits; acceptance of a Special Interest Session does not guarantee that all abstracts submitted for that session will be accepted, or that they can all be scheduled together. Unless instructed otherwise, the Program Committee will automatically consider the individual abstracts from any rejected Special Interest Session for presentation in Contributed Abstract sessions.
Submit Abstract

Program Planner Contact Information:
Martin C. Weinrich, PhD
Medical College of Georgia
2131 Ansley Place West
Augusta, GA 30904
Phone: (706) 721-6792
mweinrich@mcg.edu