The jobs people have and the working conditions they experience affect their physical and mental health, and their overall well-being. We are seeking abstracts which characterize these factors and their impacts; examine emerging- or less-recognized hazards; report on interventions or organizing campaigns to address them; or describe community-based participatory research or policy development. Of particular interest are research or projects related to workers who are at risk because of their race, ethnicity, age, disability, immigration status, or precarious employment. We welcome abstracts from students, recent graduates, workers, and community members. 

Abstracts should be no longer than 300 words. They will be evaluated primarily on the description of a work-related problem that affects (or may affect) workers' risk of injury, illness, or death; the methodology or strategies used in the research or project; the findings (or notes when they are expected); the potential or realized implications on protection of workers or policy change; and if applicable, strengthening the principle of employer responsibility for providing safe and healthful workplaces.

Abstracts are usually organized into Background/Objectives, Methods, Results, and Conclusions. We recognize, however, that for some proposed presentations or posters, the abstracts will not fit logically into the sections.       

• Aging workers (proposed collaboration with the Aging Section)
  
• Assessments and interventions addressing linkages among workers, animals, wildlife, and the environment (in collaboration with the One Health Section)
  
• Climate change impacts on workers; Heat protection for all workers (e.g., state or federal campaigns; workplace programs)
  
• Community building for decent work and a just world; Role of unions, worker centers and activists; voices of injured/ill workers
  
• Education & training; Policy development; Advocacy campaigns for work-related injury and illness prevention
  
• Implications of new technology on work-related injuries and illnesses
  
• Mental health at the workplace (e.g., psychosocial hazards and organizational responsibility); work-related stress, recovery-friendly workplaces; and employment factors and suicide risk
  
• Poster competition for students and recent graduates
  
• Safety and health programs for "hard-to-reach workers" due to economic, racial, language or other barriers (proposed collaboration with the Latino Caucus)
  
• Other topics in occupational health and safety
  

Poster sessions feature 10 presenters who create a visual display of their research or project, and are prepared to provide a brief overview, answer questions, and engage in conversation with attendees. The display area for each presenter will be about 4’ X 8’ (1.2m X 2.4m). We encourage presenters to use components of "Better Poster Design" to develop their poster.  In addition, at least one of our poster sessions will be designated as a competition in which monetary prizes will be awarded.

Roundtable sessions are designed for presenters to engage in small group discussions with attendees. The sessions are 90 minutes long and feature up to 10 speakers who are each at their own table. Attendees choose a table, the presenter gives a 3- to 5-minute description of their project, followed by 15-20 minutes of conversation. The session moderator will call “time” and will encourage attendees to move to a new table which will have a different presenter. Attendees will move to new tables 3-4 times. (Use the "Note to Organizers" textbox to let us know if you prefer a Roundtable session.)

Oral sessions are 90 minutes long with 4-5 speakers. Each speaker has 15-18 minutes for their presentations, with a moderator managing about 15 minutes for questions from the audience. 

We are also accepting Proposals for Oral Sessions, in which an organizer recruits 4-5 speakers for a 90-minute session. These proposals should not be made up of abstracts from presenters who are all involved in a single study or project. The organizer of the proposed session and each speaker for the proposed session will use the "Start Session Proposal" option on the Call for Abstracts webpage. 

The organizer of a proposed session must:
(1) submit an “overview abstract” with a brief description of the purpose of the session and its alignment with the OHS Section's Call for Abstracts; 
(2) ensure that each proposed speaker submits their abstract using the "Start Session Proposal" option; and                                                                                                                                            (3) verifies that each abstract has at least one learning objective that meets the action verb criteria; does not mention any commercial products; and follows the instructions for the speaker's statement of qualifications.

The organizer's overview abstract and all of the speakers' abstracts must be submitted by the March 31, 2026 deadline. 

If we are unable to accept the proposed session, we will consider accepting one or more of the abstracts to include separately in the program. In the overview abstract for the full session proposal, the session organizer should indicate whether this alternative is not acceptable to any of their speakers. Make this notation in the “Notes/Comments to organizers” textbox including the title of the abstract for which this alternative is not acceptable.

Continuing Education

The OHS Section strives to provide CE credits for every oral session in our program. In order to do so, each abstract must include all of the following:

(1) At least one learning outcome that begins with one of the following action words: explain, demonstrate, analyze, formulate, discuss, compare, differentiate, describe, name, assess, evaluate, identify, design, define, or list.

(2) No mention of any commercial products including software or equipment.

(3) A signed Conflict of Interest form.

(4) A statement of qualifications that describes the presenter's unique expertise to present the information described in the abstract. Examples of appropriate statements are: “I conducted the data analysis”; “I developed the training materials”; I was the principal investigator for the study.”  In contrast, the following are examples of statements that will be deemed inadequate by the continuing education (CE) accrediting organizations: “I am a professor at XYZ university”; or “I have more than 25 years of experience in the field of worker safety.” 

Scholarships

The OHS Section offers a limited number of scholarships for students, and representatives of labor and community-based organizations. Please see the OHS Section Awards webpage for scholarship information. 

Decisions about Abstracts

Decision notifications about abstract acceptance, waitlist, or rejection will be emailed in June 2026. We hope we will be able to accept many of the abstracts received.

If your abstract is accepted, we will encourage you to designate the “Occupational Health & Safety” (OHS) as one of their APHA Sections when you join the association, which is a requirement to present at the annual meeting. If you are already an APHA member, you can modify your "MyAPHA Account" at any time. 

The OHS Section is one of APHA's smaller Sections, but we are one of the most active and experienced with respect to public health policy and advocacy. We are the professional home for researchers, educators and activists who strive to advance social justice, embrace mentorship and leadership development, and value solidarity. 

We have a membership meeting on the third Thursday of every month at 4 pm (ET)/1 pm (PT) on Zoom. (You do not need to be an OHS Section member to attend.) Contact us for information about attending our monthly meeting. 

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Ready?

Program Planner Contact Information:

Celeste Monforton,
celeste.monforton@gmail.com