CALL FOR ABSTRACTS — 139th APHA Annual Meeting

Theme: Healthy Communities Promote Healthy Minds & Bodies

Food and Nutrition

Submission Deadline: Tuesday, February 15, 2011
The APHA Food and Nutrition Section (FNS) invites you to submit abstracts for the APHA 139th Annual Meeting featuring the theme of Healthy Communities Promote Healthy Minds & Bodies to be held October 29 – November 2, 2011 in Washington, DC. The link between the community nutrition environment and the physical and mental health of its residents is well-established. More and more, the complicated, multi-factorial issues that determine healthy diet and nutrition call for community-wide interventions.

Plans for the FNS Sessions
  • The FNS seeks abstracts that highlight evidenced-based practice, research and policies specific to community health and its connection to hunger, food insecurity, obesity and nutrition-related diseases.
  • Abstracts covering public health nutrition, government food guidelines, the food industry, food production, retail food environments, food safety, food marketing, nutrition education, community nutrition, dietary disparities, school nutrition, dietary measurement and other topics related to food and nutrition themselves—or as pertaining to mental health and physical activity—are encouraged. FNS seeks both domestic and international representation.
  • The final program will be a mix of 1) poster and oral sessions compiled from individually contributed abstracts (DEADLINE EXTENDED TO February 15, 2011), 2) complete special sessions, fully compiled and coordinated by submitting parties (due February 25, 2011) and 3) invited sessions on important topics identified by FNS leadership.
  • Student abstracts are strongly encouraged and the FNS will present an award to the highest scored student abstract in-person at the section awards ceremony on Sunday, October 30th. Award recipients must attend the conference, or forfeit their award.
  • Film, Technology and Media - Abstracts employing innovative technology and media (interactive phone, internet, mass media, film and theater) that can be presented in the Film and Technology Theater or presented in a hands-on format at a session of roundtable discussions are encouraged.


    • Desired Abstract Topics
    Individual abstracts should be submitted to one of the following subtopics (ex. 1a.), which are grouped below under four broad topics:1) National Nutrition and Health Policy Initiatives, 2) Community Engagement, Food Systems, Food Environment, Workforce and Policy, 3) Food Consumption Patterns of Individuals: Research Methodology, Determinants and Associations with Health Status and 4) Communicating with Consumers: Nutrition Education, Food Marketing and Labeling.
    • 1a. 2010 Dietary Guidelines
      Implications for nutrition standards and dietary intake, dissemination and federal food program policy
    • 1b. Communities Putting Prevention to Work
      Implementing and evaluating Media, Access, Point of Decision Information, Price and Social Support Services (MAPPS) projects in communities
    • 1c. Farm Bill 2012
      Understanding the impact of SNAP-Ed, sustainable food systems, food subsidies and communicating public health importance with law makers and constituents
    • 1d. Healthy People 2020
      Achieving and tracking national health objectives; strategies; communication tools; monitoring new environmental and state-level goals
    • 1e. National nutrition, food safety and food availability surveillance and research
      New questionnaires, survey methodology and data dissemination tools and resources
    • 1f. Food Safety Modernization Act
      Implications for international trade; small, medium and large farm operations; food safety
    • 2a. Social Movements
      Engaging communities in nutrition and physical activity social change
    • 2b. Faith-based, community-based and rural or urban nutrition interventions
    • 2c. The food industry
      Food production, reformulation, distribution systems, food safety, transportation and sustainable agriculture
    • 2d. Economics of food insecurity and obesity
      A closer look at the global food crisis, global food security and obesity prevention
    • 2e. Anti-hunger initiatives
      Access, systems, screening and nutrition guidelines
    • 2f. Food access, retail and sovereignty
      Corner store and bodega initiatives; exposure to unhealthy food products; relationship between access and behavior; promoting local foods; right of communities to define their own food systems
    • 2g. Refining data-driven decision making
      Mapping and spatial analysis of the food environment (e.g. GIS, on-line mapping applications, etc.), open-source data initiatives and data visualization for state planning and community advocacy
    • 2h. School and childcare nutrition and physical activity environment
      State of the environment and association with health and well-being
    • 2i. Nutrition policy evaluation
      Evaluating effectiveness, cost and benefit of school wellness, retail/zoning, worksite, cafeteria and environment policy change
    • 2j. Worksite wellness
      Improving cafeteria and vending options, breastfeeding initiatives and physical activity through intervention and policy
    • 2k. Public health nutrition workforce
      Knowledge management systems, recruitment strategies and retention in health departments, government agencies and community health centers
    • 3a. Nutrient and dietary intake assessment
      Advances in measurement, participation/recruitment and data collection procedures
    • 3b. Changes in portion size and meal patterns
      Implications for research, policy and education
    • 3c. Increasing fruit and vegetable consumption
      Associations with weight management and health
    • 3d. Breastfeeding, infant feeding practices, cues and self-regulation
    • 3e. Mental health and sleep
      Associations with overweight, food security and consumption patterns
    • 3f. Nutrition, social determinants and disparities
      Issues related to race, gender, literacy and income/economics
    • 3g. Overweight and obesity among children, adolescents and adults
    • 3h. Sugar-sweetened beverages
      Availability, marketing, consumption patterns, pricing and taxes
    • 3i. Understanding determinants of food selection to improve public health
      Culture, palatability, cost, convenience and health concerns
    • 4a. Food marketing, labeling and health claims
      State of the science, initiatives to clarify nutrition messages and protecting vulnerable groups
    • 4b. Social marketing and communication
      Creating emotional ties to nutrition and physical activity messages
    • 4c. Film and technology theater and roundtables
      Integrating new technologies and media in nutrition and physical activity promotion and advocacy including social media, open source data movements, podcasts and mapping
    • 4d. Low-literacy and numeracy skills
      Prevalence and implications for nutrition education and terminology
    Instructions for Submitting Your Abstract:
  • Abstracts must be submitted online by February 15, 2011 at 11:59 p.m. (PST)(This is the final, extended deadline).
  • Abstract text should be no less than 150 words and no more than 250 words.
  • Please include in your submission the type of presentation preferred (oral only, poster, or no preference) as well as 3 measurable objectives (see continuing education credit instructions below).
  • Abstract Elements: Due to the high quality and volume of abstracts submitted to the Food and Nutrition Section, abstracts must include the following elements: 1) INTRODUCTION – program or issue background; 2) METHODS - program design or research methodology details; 3) RESULTS – specific findings or expected presentation of results or outcomes; and, 4) DISCUSSION - importance or significance of the findings or program.

    • Planning Tools: Accepted abstracts from past meetings can be accessed to review examples of abstract elements and language. Click on the following link to view sessions and abstracts from previous meetings: http://www.apha.org/meetings/pastfuture/pastannualmeetings.htm


    Special or Invited Sessions:
    The Food and Nutrition Section also invites the submission of proposals for full Invited or Special Sessions related to the theme of the Annual Meeting, Healthy Communities Promote Healthy Minds & Bodies.

    Proposals: Proposals for Invited or Special Sessions (i.e. full sessions with invited speakers) must be submitted by mail or email (no faxes, please) to the Food and Nutrition Section Program Planning Committee Chair by February 25, 2011 at 11:59 p.m. (PST). Special full session proposals are not submitted through the on-line system.

    The single-spaced proposal document sent to the FNS Program Planning Committee Chair should contain the following information in the order listed below and should not exceed two pages:
  • Session organizer’s name, affiliation, full mailing address, e-mail address, telephone and fax numbers at the top of the first page,
  • Brief overview including the title, purpose, relevance and importance of the proposed session,
  • Two to three learning objectives (see continuing education credit instructions below),
  • List of proposed invited speakers, their affiliations and proposed presentation topics, and
  • Session Timeline/Agenda: Detailed schedule for an hour and a half session. Please list the time limit for each moderator, presentation and discussant, the presenter’s name (underlined) and all other authors and 1-3 sentences on the goal of the specific presentation. Please begin the session timeline at 0:00 hrs and end it at 1:30. Any single presentation may be up to 30 minutes in length.

    • We encourage Invited or Special Sessions to allow time for a discussant. Point/Counterpoint or panel discussions that engage the audience are also encouraged and this format should be highlighted in the submission text. The session proposal should include all author information for the organizer, presiding individual and discussants, if any.

    Deadlines: Invited or Special session proposals should be submitted to the Food and Nutrition Section Program Planner no later than February 25, 2011 at 11:59 p.m. (PST). All sessions will be reviewed by the program planning committee and the Session Chair. Acceptance notices will be sent to Special Session Organizers by March 24, 2011. Please consider that proposals are competitive. If accepted, organizers and speakers will then have from March 25 through the deadline of April 22, 2011 to upload the session’s information into the online system, including a session description and learning objectives, as well as complete abstracts and learning objectives for each proposed presentation, with an indication of the Invited or Special session to which it belongs. The organizers and presenters will also be requested to complete a conflict of interest disclosure. An abstract submitted as part of an Invited or Special session should not be submitted as an individual contributed abstract.

    Submit special full session proposals to:

    Ann Middleton, MPH
    2011 FNS Program Planning Chair
    Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity
    Yale University, Department of Psychology
    PO Box 208369
    309 Edwards Street (courier)
    New Haven, CT 06520-8369
    Phone: (203) 436-2528
    ann.middleton@yale.edu


    Continuing Education Credit
    APHA values the ability to provide continuing education credit to physicians, nurses, health educators and those certified in public health 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 must provide:
    1. an abstract free of trade and/or commercial product names

    2. at least one MEASURABLE objective (DO NOT USE understand or to learn as objectives, they are not measureable). Examples of Acceptable Measurable Action Words: Explain, Demonstrate, Analyze, Formulate, Discuss, Compare, Differentiate, Describe, Name, Assess, Evaluate, Identify, Design, Define or List.

    3. A signed Conflict of Interest (Disclosure) 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.

    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 credit. Contact the Food and Nutrition Section program planning chair for all other questions.
    Ready? Click

    Program Planner Contact Information:
    Ann E. Middleton, MPH
    Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity
    Yale University
    PO Box 208369
    309 Edwards Street (courier)
    New Haven, CT 06520-8369
    Phone: (203) 436-2528
    ann.middleton@yale.edu

    and
    Leah Rimkus, MPH, RD
    Institute for Health Research and Policy
    University of Illinois at Chicago
    1747 West Roosevelt Road, M/C 275
    Room 558
    Chicago, IL 60608
    Phone: 312-413-4884
    lrimkus@uic.edu

    and
    Sally Bullock, MPH
    Samuels & Associates
    1222 Preservation Park Way
    Oakland, CA 94612
    Phone: 510-271-6799
    sally@samuelsandassociates.com