CALL FOR ABSTRACTS — APHA 2023 Annual Meeting and Expo
Aging & Public Health
Meeting theme: "Creating the Healthiest Nation: Overcoming Social and Ethical Challenges"
Submission Deadline: Monday, April 3, 2023
The Aging and Public Health Section welcomes empirical research or practice-related presentations, using quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods. Abstracts should be no more than 250 words. All abstracts must have direct relevance to aging or older adults. If your abstract is not relevant to aging or older adults, please go back to the APHA Call for Abstracts page and select a different component/group.
Submissions may be for poster, oral, or roundtable session formats; please note the desired format on the abstract form. If your abstract is accepted for presentation, you must become an individual member of APHA and register for the Annual Meeting in order to present. Abstracts cannot be published in any scientific journal or presented at any other conference prior to the APHA Annual Meeting.
Specific areas of interest to the Aging and Public Health Section include but are not limited to:
Advance Care Planning, Palliative Care, and End-of-Life Issues
Aging Population Health (joint session with Public Health Education and Health Promotion section, Disability Section, the Food and Nutrition Section, and the Physical Activity Section)
The growing prevalence of chronic illness and comorbidity among older adults calls for increasing the capacities of the public health system to provide integrated medical and social services to this population and diverse subgroups. Chronic illness affects older adults disproportionately and contributes to disability, diminished quality of life, and increased healthcare and long-term care costs. Increased life expectancy reflects in part the success of public health interventions, but public health programs must now respond to the challenges posed by the vast unmet needs of older adults and their caregivers. Abstracts that address the complexity of these challenges across multiple domains (i.e., medical including oral health, social and economic) and propose innovation in public health policy and/or programs to improve older adults' health and well-being is invited.
Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias and Cognition
Apha 2023 Conference Theme: Creating the Healthiest Nation: Overcoming Social and Ethical Challenges Abstracts submitted to this category should have clear relevance to the conference theme
Behavioral and Social Science Research in Aging
Caregiving across Different Contexts and Settings
Environment Abstracts should consider the influence of the natural, built, or social environment on health
Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Self-Management
Medical Care, Disease Screening, Management, and Treatment
Minority Health and Issues Related to Intersectionality We welcome abstracts that explore how social and political identity (gender, race/ethnicity, sexuality, disability, etc.) impact health.
New and Emerging Issues: Aging and Public Health in 10 Years Abstracts should focus on new findings, emerging trends, and/or innovative solutions and directions that will require attention in the next 10 years.
Pandemics and Aging Abstracts are relevant, including those focused on the Covid-19 pandemic and aging.
Structural Racism, Health Equity, and Aging Abstracts will be considered that focus on health policy and social/elder justice as well as other aspects of health equity and structural racism related to aging populations/older adults.
Other Topics Relevant to Aging and Public Health
Structured Abstract Format
For research/empirical abstracts use the following headings: Background, Methods, Results, Conclusions.
For lessons learned and practice-based abstracts use the following headings: Background, Description, Lessons Learned, Implications.
Symposium Sessions
We also invite submissions for 90-minute symposium sessions. A session typically consists of either four 20-minute presentations or five 15-minute presentations addressing a common theme. Please e-mail the program chairs if you submit a symposium; these require special processing for appropriate review.
There will only be a few available time slots for consideration as symposia sessions. Due to the volume of abstracts we receive and the limited number of oral sessions we are allotted, we cannot consider symposium sessions containing fewer than four papers. Abstracts for proposed individual papers must be submitted along with an overall symposium abstract. This complete package gives the reviewers more substance from which to judge the overall merits of the proposal.
Symposium submissions should:
Include an overall session abstract, which includes a rationale for the session, the proposed paper titles, author(s), order of presentation, abstract numbers for the individual papers, and abstracts for each paper presentation.
Clearly label each paper session abstract with "SESSION ABSTRACT - your proposed paper presentation title" (you fill in the italicized part but keep the SESSION ABSTRACT) on the electronic submission page form when entering your proposal.
Identify the proposed moderator and/or discussant.
Be sure that each presenter submits a separate abstract and indicates that it is part of a symposium referencing the session title.
Provide contact information (phone and e-mail) for the person in charge of the session directly on the overall session abstract so that we can contact you easily; and
Indicate whether or not you would like to have the individual abstracts considered for presentation in other sessions if your proposed symposium is not accepted. Please state, "Yes, I would like to have abstracts considered separately," or "No, I do not want to have these abstracts considered separately."
Please be aware that each paper in the symposium is scored individually, and the symposium is also scored as a group. The individual abstract for each paper must score reasonably well to be considered for a symposium session.
Abstract scoring
All abstract submissions are evaluated based on the following criteria:
Significance of the problem to public health and aging
Innovation of ideas, methods, and or approach
The rigor of methods and approach (analytical design for research, systematic approach for practice and/or policy)
Presentation of empirical findings (not applicable if abstract does not present empirical research)
Implications identified for future research, practice, and/or policy
Clarity of writing
Aging and Public Health Section Awards
The Aging and Public Health Section sponsors several awards in various aging and public health categories. To be considered for one of the following awards, please indicate this on your abstract submission form by selecting the award from the drop-down box.
Aetna Susan B. Anthony Award for Excellence in Research on Older Women and Public Health
Aging and Public Health Rural and Environment Award
Archstone Foundation Award for Excellence in Program Innovation
Betty J. Cleckley Minority Issues Research Award
James G. Zimmer New Investigator Research Award
Laurence G. Branch Doctoral Student Research Award funded by the Retirement Research Foundation
Master's Student Research Award funded by the Retirement Research Foundation
Nobuo Maeda International Aging & Public Health Research Award
Erickson Foundation Research Award in Positive Aging
Through the generous support of the Retirement Research Foundation and its president, Marilyn Henessey, the Aging and Public Health Section offers two student research awards. The Masters Student Research Award, funded by the Retirement Research Foundation, recognizes outstanding research led by a student while matriculating in a master's program. Individuals currently in doctoral programs or other settings but who completed the research as master's students are eligible to submit an abstract for this award. Similarly, the Lawrence G. Branch Doctoral Student Research Award, funded by the Retirement Research Foundation, is awarded to outstanding research led by a student while matriculating in a doctoral program. The student is eligible even if the doctoral degree has recently been completed.
All award recipients will be recognized at the Aging and Public Health Awards session, receive a monetary award and be recognized on the Aging and Public Health Section website.
Each abstract will be considered for only one award. You may submit different abstracts to be considered for different awards. Previous award-winning authors and authorship teams may apply again in the same award category. However, submitted papers must represent scientific or programmatic investigations that are substantively different from previous winning papers. The Awards committee retains the right to compare submitted papers with previous submissions.
For the Archstone Foundation Award submission, please contact Karon Phillips (karonlphillips@gmail.com) for further details. For more information about the individual awards, contact Aging and Public Health Awards Chairs: Lesley Steinman, MSW, MPH (lesles@uw.edu), Rodlescia Sneed, Ph.D. (sneedrod@msu.edu), Reza Amini, MD, Ph.D., MPH(dramini@umich.edu)
For questions and inquiries, please contact the 2022 Aging and Public Health Program: Rajasri Roy, Ph.D., MPH (rajasri.roy@nih.gov), Lan Doan, Ph.D., MPH (Lan.Doan@nyulangone.org), Patricia A Fletcher (patriciafletcher@me.com) or Emily Joy Nicklett, Ph.D., MSW, MA (emily.nicklett@utsa.edu).
Continuing Education Credit
APHA values the ability to provide continuing education credit to physicians, nurses, health educators, veterinarians, 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 the following:
For a session to be eligible for Continuing Education Credit, each presenter, panelist, discussant, and/or faculty must provide the following:
An abstract free of trade and/or commercial product names.
At least one MEASURABLE SINGLE outcome ("to understand" or "to learn" are not measurable outcomes and compound outcomes are not acceptable). Use ONLY the following Measurable Action Verbs:
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 I am the Principal Investigator of this study is NOT an acceptable qualification statement.
All continuing education learning content must be of sound science or professional practice and serve to maintain, develop, or increase the health professional's knowledge, skills, and professional competence. Learning content should be evidence-based if available. A list of over 30 areas will be provided online for you to choose from, and 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 Mighty Fine at mighty.fine@apha.org if you have any questions concerning continuing education. For program questions, contact the program planner listed below.
