CALL FOR ABSTRACTS — APHA 2026 Annual Meeting and Expo
Epidemiology Late Breakers
Meeting theme: "Together We Thrive: Health Across the Lifespan"
Submission Deadline: Wednesday, July 8, 2026
The American Public Health Association (APHA) Epidemiology Section is accepting abstracts for late breaker sessions for the 2026 APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition from November 1-4 in San Antonio, Texas.
Individuals should submit materials only if they, or a designee, are committed to registering for and attending the conference to present the paper or poster in person.
Notification of abstract status will be sent in late August 2026.
General Guidelines
A late breaker abstract is a summary of epidemiologic-related work associated with events that occurred after the regular 2026 APHA Annual Meeting abstract submission deadline passed (March 31, 2026).
Late breaker abstracts topics include:
2026 Meeting Theme: Together We Thrive: Health Across the Lifespan
Availability and Accuracy of Public Health Data
Environmental Aspects of New or Resurgent Communicable or Infectious Diseases
Epidemiology of New or Resurgent Communicable or Infectious Diseases
Health Consequences of Politics and/or War: Epidemiologic Perspectives
Novel Epidemiologic Methods to Study and Address the Impact of Immigration on Health
Role of Epidemiology in Examining and Controlling the Impact of Climate Extremes (excessive heat, flooding, tornadoes, wildfires, etc.) on Health
Other Late Breaker Topics
ABSTRACT FORMAT
Abstract text must be limited to 250 words. Abstracts must include the following elements (please include these section headings in your abstract text):
Background: description of the issue/problem
Study objective(s) (and/or hypothesis(es))
Methods: description of study design, participants, data sources, dates of data collection; statistical analyses and measures
Results: include statistics, if generated
Conclusion: description of study outcomes, importance of work to public health
The following are a sample of resources for assistance with writing your abstract:
Abstract submissions must include at least one measurable learning objective. Guidelines for writing learning objectives can be found in the Continuing Education Credits section below.
ADDITIONAL ABSTRACT INFORMATION
Abstracts reporting on data that have not yet been collected and/or analyzed as of the abstract deadline may be rejected.
Submissions will be reviewed and scored by independent reviewers to ensure high quality scientific submissions are selected for presentation at the meeting.
The work described in abstracts selected for presentation must not be presented or published prior to the APHA Annual Meeting.
Submit your abstract to the topic area that most closely aligns with the work described in your abstract.
When submitting your abstract, you will be asked to identify which type of presentation format you prefer: Oral only, oral preferred, poster, or no preference.
Oral presentations are generally 10-15 minutes in length, depending upon the number of presentations per session. An additional 3-5 minutes per presentation will be available for discussion and questions from the audience.
Presenters at poster sessions display their work alongside other posters and should be available to answer questions throughout the scheduled 60-minute session.
The program planning committee reserves the right to make all final decisions in designating abstracts as oral or poster presentations.
The Epidemiology Section does NOT host round-table Scientific sessions. The Epidemiology Section Speed Mentoring session is the only one that uses a round-table format.
Individual presentations must be given in-person during the Annual Meeting.
All selected presenters must be individual members of APHA, register for and attend the meeting, and complete a Conflict-of-Interest disclosure in advance of the Annual Meeting.
Although membership in the APHA Epidemiology Section is not required for presentation of your work in our program, we invite all interested presenters and attendees to become members of the Epidemiology Section!
CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDITS
APHA values the ability to provide continuing education credit at its annual meeting to those certified in public health as well as physicians, nurses, health educators, social workers, and other related professionals. These credits are necessary for members to keep their licenses and credentials.
When submitting your abstract or Special Session proposals, please complete all required information needed for your presentation to be considered for Continuing Education credit. This information includes:
An abstract free of trade and/or commercial product names (example: state “a major urban health care provider” rather than naming a for-profit business or its products. However, in the methods section you can name the statistical software package that was used for the analysis).
At least ONE measurable learning outcome.
DO NOT USE “to understand” or “to learn” as they are not measurable.
A signed web-based Conflict of Interest (Disclosure) form.
Relevant Qualification Statement.
A relevant qualification statement is a valid statement of your qualification(s) to present the material in your abstract. Please add sufficient and appropriate information about your experience, expertise and background.
Please note that stating “I am a Principal Investigator/Project Coordinator of this project.” is not sufficient since it only gives the submitter's job title or position.
Example of an acceptable qualification statement:
I have been the principal or co-principal investigator of federally funded grants focusing on the epidemiology of chronic diseases. Among my scientific interests has been the development of strategies for preventing cardiovascular disease and the assessment of novel methods in the prevention of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
Please contact education@apha.org if you have any questions concerning continuing education credit. Please contact the program planners (aphaepiprogram@gmail.com) for all other questions.
Thank you for considering the APHA Epidemiology Section!
