The Cancer Forum invites abstracts for oral presentations, symposia, and posters describing original research and innovative intervention programs or policies that address topics including behavioral, genetic, socioeconomic, and environmental risk factors for cancer; prevention and early detection; cancer treatment access and outcomes; clinical trials; cancer disparities; cancer literacy and cancer communication; and cancer survivorship. Special consideration will be given to research pertaining to this year’s conference theme, “Building the Healthiest Nation: Ensuring the Right to Health.”  Potential topics that are relevant to the conference theme include:

• Barriers to care (e.g., systemic, functional), including but not limited to affordability (e.g., insurance co-pays, cancer financial toxicity) and availability (e.g., geographical context) of care
  
• Community organizing and outreach (e.g., through community health workers and other professionals) related to cancer risk factors, access, prevention, screening, treatment, and survivorship
  
• Ensuring or enabling the participation of minority and medically underserved populations in cancer clinical trials and precision medicine efforts
  
• Ethical, legal, and social implications of health policies, including but not limited to the Affordable Care Act and access to cancer care across the care continuum (prevention to treatment and survivorship)
  
• Implications of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force clinical recommendations (i.e., screening guidelines) on access to care across the cancer care continuum, from prevention to treatment and survivorship
  
• Initiatives to promote access to cancer care, across the care continuum, in low-and-middle income or developing countries
  
• Innovative social media, telehealth, and other technological interventions to promote utilization of and access to cancer care, across the care continuum
  
• Interventions aimed at improving equitable access to preventive care and screening, especially among underserved and underinsured populations.
  Research on individuals at high risk for cancer and cancer recurrence due to environmental and behavioral risk factors  (e.g. tobacco use, alcohol and other drug use, obesity, excessive sun exposure, and sexually transmitted infections) are of particularly of interest.
• National and international initiatives or strategies that strive to promote health equity, both from a policy and practical perspective (e.g., universal healthcare systems)
  
• Patient navigation, peer navigation, and/or healthcare delivery changes/models to improve delivery of and/or promote best practices in cancer screening, treatment, and survivorship services
  
• The impact of local institutional and hospital policies on access to care (e.g., “charity care” or financial assistance programs), especially for underinsured and underserved populations
  
• The role and impact of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on improving access to cancer care, across the care continuum, from prevention to treatment and survivorship.
  
• “Big data” (e.g., data from electronic medical records, SEER, NIS, MEPS, Medicare and Medicaid) studies on healthcare utilization and affordability of care, especially among underinsured and underserved populations
  

Abstracts are limited to 250 words or less. They will be evaluated based on their conceptual and methodological quality, innovation and novelty, and relevance to the conference theme. Abstracts are required to include quantitative or qualitative data.Preliminary data are acceptable. Referral to web pages or URLs may not be used for abstracts. An author may not submit the same abstract to more than one Section, SPIG, Caucus or Forum. For any and all inquiries about your abstract, always refer to the abstract number assigned to you by the online system. Oral presentations at contributed sessions are generally 13-15 minutes in length. An additional 3-5 minutes will be available for discussion and questions from the audience.

Presenters at poster sessions should display their work and be available to answer questions throughout the scheduled 60 minute poster session. Preferences for oral versus poster presentation will be considered, but the program committee will consider all abstracts for both oral and poster categories. If you are interested in submitting a panel/symposium for consideration as part of the 2016 APHA Cancer Forum program, please contact the Program Planners (contact info below) for additional instructions.

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.)

Please note that stating “I am a Principal Investigator/Project Coordinator of this project.” is not sufficient since it only gives submitter's job title or position. Please add little more information about your experience and/or background.

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.

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Ready?

Program Planner Contact Information:

Yasmin Asvat, PhD
Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital/Washington University School of Medicine
4921 Parkview Place
Mailstop 90-35-703
St. Louis, MO 63110
yasmin.asvat@bjc.org

and
Jason Oliver
Duke University School of Medicine
Durham, NC
Jason.A.Oliver@dm.duke.edu