CALL FOR ABSTRACTS — 140th APHA Annual Meeting

Theme: Prevention and Wellness Across the Lifespan

Food and Nutrition

Submission Deadline: Thursday, February 9, 2012
The APHA Food & Nutrition Section (F&N) invites abstracts and full session proposals for the APHA 140th Annual Meeting, which will feature the theme of Prevention and Wellness Across the Lifespan and be held October 27 – October 31, 2012 in San Francisco, California.

Plans for the F&N Section Sessions

  • The F&N Section seeks abstracts that highlight research, evidenced-based practice, and policies specific to prevention and wellness, particularly abstracts that highlight one or more recommendations outlined in the National Prevention Strategy.
  • Abstracts that combine nutrition with other disciplines such as physical activity, environmental health, communications, and/or other disciplines are of interest.
  • The F&N Section seeks both domestic and international representation, with a particular interest in programs and interventions that serve populations most affected by diet-related diseases (e.g., rural areas and the south-central states).
  • Student abstracts are strongly encouraged and the F&N Section will present an award to the highest scored student abstract at the section awards ceremony. Award recipients must attend the conference, or forfeit their award.
  • Abstracts employing innovative technology and media (interactive phone, internet, mass media, film and theater) that can be presented in the Film and Technology Theater are encouraged.
  • The final program will be a mix of 1) poster and oral sessions compiled from individually-contributed abstracts, 2) complete sessions, fully compiled and coordinated by submitting parties and 3) invited sessions on important topics identified by F&N leadership.
  • Submissions of individual abstracts and full session proposals are due February 9, 2012.

    • PRESENTER AND PRESENTATION REQUIREMENTS

    All persons making a presentation at the Annual Meeting & Exposition must pay a registration fee in order to participate in the program. All persons presenting an abstract must become individual members of APHA and must register for the annual meeting in order to make their presentations. APHA does not pay honoraria or expenses to any presenter.
    Presentations may not be submitted to multiple Sections, SPIGs, Caucuses or Forums and may be presented only one time during the Annual Meeting & Expo. The presentation may not be presented or published prior to the APHA Annual Meeting.

    TOPICS OF INTEREST
    Individual abstracts should be submitted to one of the topics listed below. Topics are grouped under broader categories that reflect the six Healthy Eating recommendations named in the National Prevention Strategy: (1) Increasing Access to Healthy and Affordable Foods in Communities; (2) Implementing Organizational and Programmatic Nutrition Standards and Policies; (3) Improving the Nutritional Quality of the Food Supply; (4) Enhancing Food Safety; (5) Helping People Recognize and Make Healthy Food and Beverage Choices; and (6) Supporting Policies and Programs that Promote Breastfeeding.

    Please note that these topics are used for sorting purposes only. While we would like you to select and submit under the category that best represents the focus of your abstract, abstracts will not be evaluated based on their ability to fit within a given topical area.

    • 1a. Measurement of the Food Environment
      GIS Mapping, Observational Data Collection, Open-Source Data Initiatives, and Data Visualization for Planning and Advocacy
    • 1b. Innovations in Food Retail
      Healthy Corner Stores and Bodegas, Produce Carts, Fresh Food Financing Initiatives, Zoning Strategies, and Other Initiatives
    • 1c. Promoting Local Foods
      Farmers’ Markets, Community Supported Agriculture, Urban Agriculture, and Other Initiatives
    • 1d. Food Prices
      Disparities in Food Prices, Influence on Consumer Behavior, Perceived Value and Quality
    • 1e. Understanding Nutritional Disparities and Determinants of Nutrition Behaviors
      Issues Around Age, Race, Gender, Income, Literacy, Culture, and Other Factors
    • 1f. Nutrition and Human Rights
      Domestic and International Issues Around Food Access, Sovereignty, and the Right to Safe and Healthy Food
    • 1g. Increasing Access to Healthy and Affordable Foods in Communities (other)
      Other topics relating to Increasing Access to Healthy and Affordable Foods in Communities
    • 2a. The Nutrition and Physical Activity Environment in Schools and in Child Care Settings
    • 2b. Changing Food Procurement Standards
      Healthy Sourcing/Vending, Farm-to-School, and Farm-to-Institution Initiatives
    • 2c. Innovations in the Administration of Public Food Assistance Programs and Emergency Food Systems
    • 2d. Implementing Organizational and Programmatic Nutrition Standards and Policies (other)
      Other topics relating to Implementing Organizational and Programmatic Nutrition Standards and Policies
    • 3a. National Nutrition Monitoring and Food Supply Research
      Innovative Research Methods and Databases to Track and Improve the U.S. Food Supply
    • 3b. Improving the Nutritional Quality of the Food Supply (other)
      Other topics relating to Improving the Nutritional Quality of the Food Supply
    • 4a. Food Production, Processing, and Packaging
      Understanding the Impact on Nutritional Quality and on Food Safety
    • 4b. Nutritional Needs and Food Safety Risks Among Older Adults
      Communication Efforts to Reach this Unique and Growing Population
    • 4c. Initiatives to Promote Safe Food Handling and Enhance Consumer Food Safety
    • 4d. Enhancing Food Safety (other)
      Other topics relating to Enhancing Food Safety
    • 5a. Dietary Intake Assessment
      Advances in Measurement Protocols, Software, Respondent Recruitment and Retention Strategies, and Quality Control
    • 5b. The Evolution of Dietary Guidance in the U.S
      How Recommendations Have Changed, Why They Have Changed, and How the Public Perceives and Interprets Them
    • 5c. Nutrition Education in Schools
      Building Children’s & Adolescents’ Food-based Knowledge and Skills, Relationship with Health and Academic Achievement
    • 5d. Integrating Nutrition Education into Health Care Training and Delivery
    • 5e. Food and Beverage Marketing
      State of the Science, Initiatives to Clarify Nutrition Messages, and Protecting Vulnerable Populations
    • 5f. Menu Labeling, Front of Package Labeling, and Health Claims
    • 5g. Policy, Systems, and Environmental Changes to Prevent Obesity
    • 5h. Nutrition Program and Policy Evaluation
      Evaluating Effectiveness, Costs and Benefits, and Impacts on Health and Behavior
    • 5i. Framing of Nutrition Education and Promotion Campaigns
      Obesity vs. Chronic Disease Prevention, Nutrient-based vs. Food-based Recommendations
    • 5j. Helping People Recognize and Make Better Food and Beverage Choices (other)
      Other topics relating to Helping People Recognize and Make Better Food and Beverage Choices
    • 6a. Maternal & Neonatal Nutrition
      Breastfeeding Promotion and Support Initiatives, especially those that have occurred as part of CPPW/CTG grants
    • 6b. Supporting Policies and Programs that Promote Breastfeeding (other)
      Other topics relating to Supporting Policies and Programs that Promote Breastfeeding
    • 7a. Other topics not listed above
    INDIVIDUAL ABSTRACT CONTRIBUTIONS
    Deadline February 9, 2012 (upload online by 11:59 p.m. PST)
  • Individual abstract contributions are welcome. Program planners will combine accepted individual abstracts into 90 minute oral sessions (4-5 individual abstracts of 10-20 minute oral presentations) and poster sessions (sets of 10 posters organized and presented together within a 60 minute session).
  • Please indicate in your submission the preferred type of presentation (oral only, poster, or no preference).
  • Abstract text should be no less than 150 words and no more than 250 words.
  • Abstracts must include the following four elements (please include these section headings in your abstract text):
    1. INTRODUCTION – program, topic, or issue background;
    2. METHODS – program design or research methodology in terms of data collection, program development, implementation, and/or evaluation, meta analysis, etc.;
    3. RESULTS – specific study findings. For studies in progress, list results or outcomes that will be presented at APHA; and,
    4. DISCUSSION - importance or significance of the findings or program.
  • Include three measurable objectives with your abstract (see continuing education credit instructions below).
  • Abstracts should be free of trade and commercial product names including, for example, Wal-Mart, SPSS, Stata, ArcGIS, Food ProcessorSQL, Dun & Bradstreet, and InfoUSA.
  • Persons submitting individual abstracts will be notified by email regarding the status of their submissions by June 1, 2012.

    • To review examples of accepted abstracts from past meetings, click on the following link:
    http://www.apha.org/meetings/pastfuture/pastannualmeetings.htm

    FULL SESSION PROPOSALS
    Deadline February 9, 2012 (send session overview to F&N Section Program Planning Chair and submit abstracts for all invited speakers online by 11:59 p.m. PST)
  • Proposals for full sessions are welcome. Full sessions are comprised of invited speakers who will address different aspects of the same topic of interest or a set of closely related topics. They generally include a session introduction by a moderator, 3-4 key presenters, and a discussant.
  • All proposals should contain an overview document (should not exceed two pages, single-spaced) with the following information in the order listed below:
    1. Session organizer’s name, affiliation, complete mailing address, e-mail address, telephone and fax numbers (on top of page 1);
    2. Brief overview including the title, purpose, relevance and importance of the proposed session;
    3. Two to three learning objectives for the session (see continuing education credit instructions below);
    4. List of proposed invited speakers (including any discussant or presiding individual), their affiliations and proposed presentation topics; and
    5. Session Timeline/Agenda: Detailed schedule for an hour and a half session. Please list the start and end time for each moderator, presenter, 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. Presentations may be up to 30 minutes in length.
  • The overview document for all full session proposals must be submitted by mail or email (no faxes, please) to the F&N Section Program Planning Chair by February 9th. These are not submitted through the on-line system.
  • In addition to the proposal overview document, a complete abstract for each proposed presentation will need to be submitted online via the contributed abstracts system by February 9th. Abstracts are not required for the session introduction or discussion. Each abstract must follow the format guidelines for individually contributed abstracts and include three measurable learning objectives (see continuing education credit instructions below).
  • When invited speakers/panelists for full sessions submit their abstracts online, they should state in the comment box the title of the full session and the words "I am an invited panel member." Once the panelist receives his/her abstract number, he/she must send it to the session organizer who is in turn responsible for sending all abstract numbers to the F&N Section Program Planning Chair. This ensures that all panelists in the full/invited session are placed together. If a given full session is not accepted, the individual abstracts for the session submitted online will still be considered for the program (if the speakers would like) and may be assigned to the session(s) in which they fit best.
  • We encourage full sessions to allow time for discussion and questions from the audience. In the past, point/counterpoint and panel discussions that engage the audience have been well received. This format should be highlighted in the submission text and timeline.
  • If the session will include the release of any new reports or data, this should be mentioned in the proposal, along with any plans to promote the session to news media.
  • All sessions will be reviewed by the F&N Section Program Planning Committee and the Session Chair. Acceptance notices will be sent to special session organizers by April 1, 2012. Please consider that proposals are competitive. If accepted, organizers and presenters will be requested to complete a conflict of interest disclosure.

    Full session overviews should be sent to:
    Leah Rimkus, MPH, RD
    2012 Food & Nutrition Section Program Planning Chair
    University of Illinois at Chicago
    Institute for Health Research and Policy
    1747 W. Roosevelt Road, Room 558
    Chicago, IL 60608
    Phone: (312) 413-4884
    Email: apha.fnprogram@gmail.com

    EVALUATION CRITERIA
    Individual abstracts and full session proposals will be evaluated based on the same criteria. The criteria are broad to allow for the evaluation of science, policy, and public health practice proposals. They are: 1) Relevance to public health nutrition; 2) Originality of work; 3) Sound conceptual framework; 4) Defined research methodology/study or program design; 5) Defined outcomes/evaluation; 6) Quality of writing; and 6) Overall reviewer enthusiasm.

    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, 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 Disclosure Form with a relevant qualification statement.

    Example of Acceptable Biographical Qualification Statement: I have been the principal or co-principal of multiple federally funded grants focusing on the epidemiology of drug abuse, HIV prevention and co-occurring mental and drug use disorders. Among my scientific interests has been the development of strategies for preventing HIV and STDs in out-of-treatment drug users.

    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.

    Ready?
    Program Planner Contact Information:
    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
    apha.fnprogram@gmail.com

    and
    Margaret Read, MA
    Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity
    Yale University
    309 Edwards Street
    Box 208369
    New Haven, CT 06520-8369
    Phone: 203-432-4957
    margaret.read@yale.edu