2013 ISDS Abstract Submission – International Society for Disease Surveillance

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Abstract Submission Opens: May 22nd

Abstract Submission Deadline: September 9th

Author Notification: October 4th

Call for Abstract Submissions

Presentation Types

Secondary Presentation Types

Presentation Categories

Discipline-Specific Themes

Student

Review Criteria

Submit Abstract (closed)

Call for Abstract Submissions

Abstract submissions are now being accepted for presentation at the 2013 International Society for Disease Surveillance (ISDS) Conference to be held in New Orleans, Louisiana, December 12-13, 2013. The theme for this year’s conference— Translating Research and Surveillance into Action— will focus on strategies for incorporating the latest in biosurveillance approaches, methodologies, and results into evidence-based public health practices, programs, and policies. Submissions that address the conference theme, i.e. the effective transfer of evidence to inform public health, and/or international surveillance and collaboration are especially encouraged.

The ISDS conference is the premier annual scientific gathering for researchers and practitioners in public health, epidemiology, health policy, biostatistics and mathematical modeling, informatics, computer science, and related fields focused on biosurveillance and emerging challenges to public health practice. The 2013 ISDS Conference will feature internationally renowned speakers from health departments, leading academic institutions, government agencies, international health agencies and top industrial organizations.

Abstracts accepted for presentation at the 2013 ISDS Conference will be published in a special supplement of the Online Journal of Public Health Informatics. View the 2012 ISDS Conference Proceedings here.

Guidelines for Abstract Submission

  1. Incomplete abstracts will not be accepted. Each abstract must be structured according specifications on the submission website for the corresponding submission type.
  2. Abstracts are limited to 4,810 characters, including title, authors, institutions, objectives, introduction, methods, results, conclusions, acknowledgements, references, equations, keywords, figures, and tables. A character is defined as any keystroke, including spaces and punctuation. You will not be able to submit an abstracts exceeding this count. Please submit your abstract free of typographical errors or misspellings. NOTE: While the MS Word ‘Character Count’ function may be used as a general indicator, the submission website determines character counts, especially for figures and tables, and we recommend that you copy and paste the abstract into the website and check the character count BEFORE seeking organizational approval.
  3. You do not need to format your abstract prior to submission in a tool like MS Word. Please utilize the website to place the correct section of your abstract into the correct field on the submission form.
  4. There is a function for creating tables directly in the abstract submission system. To avoid issues with image quality and for optimal readability, if possible, it is recommended that you use this function rather than uploading your table as an image.
  5. Images should be between 300 and 600 dpi. The final printed width of an image is approximately 3 inches and the image displayed on the screen will be similar to the print size.
  6. The submitting author is automatically listed as the contact author. The contact author will be sent all communications regarding abstract decisions (to be sent on October 4, 2013).
  7. Panelists: The organizer of the session needs to submit the abstract and add the names of all panelists. A panel abstract is one abstract with multiple speakers. There will be one abstract number for each panel session. View options for presentation type.
  8. Category Transfers: The scientific program committee seeks to produce a cohesive program. For oral submissions that would otherwise be rejected, the scientific program committee may transfer your submission from an oral category to a poster or lightning session. If you do not wish for your submission to be considered for transfer to another presentation type, you may choose the “none” option in the ‘Secondary Presentation Type’ section when you submit your abstract. However, please note that if your oral submission is not accepted, it will not be considered for a poster or lightning talk and will be rejected.
  9. Valid Email Address: Communication between the scientific program committee and presenting authors will be done via email ONLY. All those submitting abstracts must have a working email address to receive updates.
  10. Audiovisual Guidelines: Each oral presentation session room will be equipped with a complimentary PC-compatible laptop, LCD projector, screen, and lectern with microphone. Please note that overhead projectors and laser pointers will not be provided and internet access is not guaranteed.
  11. To ensure the program runs smoothly, all speakers are required to check in with their session moderator 30 minutes prior to the start of the session to load their presentation onto the laptop. Speakers will be notified of their session moderator in advance of the meeting.
  12. Submit abstracts here (no longer accepting abstracts).

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Presentation Types

Oral

Oral presentations will be allotted 15 minutes, followed by 5 minutes for questions. You will need to submit:

  • Title
  • Objective
  • Introduction
  • Methods
  • Results
  • Conclusions
  • Brief bio for lead author/ presenter to be used by session moderators at the conference
  • Brief summary (100 words) of oral presentation to be used in conference program

View sample 2012 ISDS Conference abstract (pdf)

Poster

Posters are the preferred format for presenting preliminary research and results of small-scale studies; describing experimental projects/programs or works-in-progress; and reporting system descriptions. Poster sessions are designed to offer direct access to the authors in a way not possible through oral presentations.

Accepted posters will be displayed during a specified session at the conference. Authors will be provided thumb tacks for displaying their poster on a designated poster board. Authors must remain in the vicinity of the board for the duration of the poster session to answer questions. Note that poster presenters are not supplied with audiovisual equipment or electricity, and posters will be grouped according to the topic selected.

You will need to submit:

  • Title
  • Objective
  • Introduction
  • Methods
  • Results
  • Conclusions
  • Brief bio for lead author/ presenter to be used by session moderators at the conference
  • Brief summary (100 words) of poster presentation to be used in conference program

View sample 2012 ISDS Conference abstract (pdf)

Panel

Panel presentations are the preferred format for deeper discussions of an issue or question. These sessions are typically more interactive than oral presentations, involving active discussion among the panelists and the audience. Panels should be limited to no more than four participants and a moderator. Panel sessions will be allotted roughly 90 minutes and will typically consist of up to four 15-minute presentations, each followed by 5 minutes of questions, with 10 minutes for closing discussion (presentation lengths subject to change slightly based on final agenda). Panel presentations require just one abstract, submitted by the organizer. Panel submissions will NOT be considered for any secondary presentation types if they are rejected. When submitting an abstract for a panel, the submission must include the following components:

  • Title
  • Objective
  • Introduction
  • Panel description
  • How the moderator intends to engage the audience in discussions on the panel topic
  • Names of panel presenters, moderator and affiliations
  • Brief bios of panel presenters and moderator so that abstract reviewers can understand why they are appropriate to lead a panel on this topic
  • Brief summary (100 words) of panel to be used in conference program

View sample 2012 ISDS Conference abstract (pdf)

Roundtable

The goal of a roundtable is to encourage discussion rather than be a presentation/didactic session. The leader should be a knowledgeable and engaging person who can help stimulate a lively discussion. Roundtables should have one to two (and no more than three) facilitators to briefly introduce the topic of interest and encourage active discussion among attendees. Roundtable discussions will be 60-90 minutes (depending on final agenda). Roundtable submissions will NOT be considered for any secondary presentation types if they are rejected. When submitting an abstract for a roundtable, the submission must include the following components:

  • Title
  • Objective
  • Introduction
  • Roundtable description
  • How the facilitator intends to engage the audience in the roundtable discussion, including sample questions
  • Names of facilitators and affiliations
  • Brief bios of facilitators so that abstract reviewers can understand why they are appropriate to lead a roundtable on this topic
  • Brief summary (100 words) of roundtable to be used in conference program

View sample 2012 ISDS Conference abstract (pdf)

Lightning Talk *New for 2013*

We are introducing a new format this year, which we hope will enable more participation from conference attendees. These Lightning Sessions are designed to facilitate the speedy sharing of recent research, theory, publications, works-in-progress, projects, applications or experiences pertaining to any aspect of the science or practice of surveillance. Each speaker has just 5 minutes for their talk and must submit no more than 5 slides prior to the conference. The 5 minutes must be strictly adhered to, and will be timed by means of a countdown timer, which the session moderator will control. This format does not include questions/discussion, therefore we hope that presenters will take the opportunity of following up with questions and discussion during breaks and by e-mail. When submitting an abstract for a lightning talk, the submission must include the following components:

  • Title
  • Objective
  • Introduction
  • Methods
  • Results
  • Conclusions
  • Brief bio for lead author/ presenter to be used by session moderators at the conference
  • Brief summary (100 words) of oral presentation to be used in conference program

 View sample 2012 ISDS Conference abstract (pdf)

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Secondary Presentation Types

If your abstract is NOT accepted for oral presentation, your submission can be considered for a secondary option below:

Lightning Talk or Poster

The submission will be considered for a lightning talk or poster based upon the recommendation from the scientific program committee and the reviewers.

Lightning Talk

The submission will be considered for a lightning talk only.

Poster

The submission will be considered for a poster only.

None

The submission will not be considered for any secondary presentation types.

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Presentation Categories

In keeping with the conference theme, all submissions discuss validation of the technical content and translation into surveillance practice. Please choose among the following presentation categories when submitting your abstract:

“How To”

This presentation style is focused on explaining the step-by-step process for accomplishing a task in practice, with the objective that participants will be able to learn how to implement the processes presented. Examples include sharing code for a visualization; how to monitor data quality in a system; how to translate ICD-9 to ICD-10 codes; how to geographically visualize data; how to conduct cluster detection, etc.

“Lessons Learned”

This presentation style is focused on projects that have already been implemented. It provides an opportunity for presenters to share their experiences with peers.

“Future Concepts and Ideas”

This presentation style is focused on projects that are in progress, or to showcase ideas for future projects for discussion and feedback.

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Discipline-Specific Themes

In addition to selecting from the above presentation categories, please choose the theme that best identifies your submission:

Analytical Methods

This theme is focused on important and novel advances in the field of surveillance methodologies and analytical approaches. Abstracts in this category may describe methods used in a production-type environment, still under development, or which have been tested only in a research setting. Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Statistical methods and tools for analyzing and interpreting data
  • Integrating evidence from multiple sources
  • Analytic evaluation of surveillance components
  • Decision support
  • New algorithms and evaluation of existing algorithms for cluster and event detection
  • Pattern recognition algorithms
  • Estimating morbidity and impact
  • Innovative use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology
  • Evaluation of algorithms and systems through epidemic simulation
  • Integration of mathematical modeling and statistical analyses
  • Time series analysis
  • Geospatial analysis
  • Spatial cluster detection

Informatics

Abstracts in this category may describe informatics practices used in a production-type environment, still under development, or which have been tested only in a research setting. Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

  • How clinical information systems can support public health surveillance efforts
  • Advances in methods for classifying data
  • Natural language processing or text mining
  • Data visualization methods
  • System descriptions of real-world solutions to challenging integration problems
  • System architectures for limited connectivity environments and disaster surveillance
  • Approaches to building interoperable surveillance systems with reusable and multi-use components from open source development and cloud services
  • Data integration – acquiring, moving, storing, processing, coding, normalizing, and preparing data for analysis between systems
  • Novel sources or uses of surveillance data
  • System architectures for surveillance in low-resource environments
  • System architectures to leverage health information exchange for public health surveillance
  • Data or information quality
  • Standards, interoperability, or data exchange
  • Informatics lessons learned
  • Usability of surveillance systems of public health end users

Policy (at local, state, federal, international levels)

  • Legal/ethical/security/privacy issues in surveillance
  • Meaningful Use impact on public health departments
  • Policies around social media/leveraging social networks for risk communication, etc.
  • International Health Regulations
  • How biosurveillance data have been used to inform policy
  • Preparing or training the public health surveillance workforce

Public health/population health surveillance practice

This discipline is focused on improving the daily processes of surveillance, outbreak investigation, management, and response. Abstracts in this category may describe practices used in a production environment by public health departments or other agencies or describe evaluations of public health surveillance, health systems research, etc. Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Non-infectious disease surveillance
  • Adverse drug events and pharmacovigilance
  • Evaluation of surveillance systems
  • OneHealth
  • Event surveillance
  • Surveillance across borders
  • Outbreak detection, characterization and outbreak management
  • Case studies
  • Situational awareness
  • Integrating surveillance across multiple data sources
  • Contact tracing and network analysis
  • Messaging/risk communication (what to say to the public, politicians and media with syndromic systems alerts)
  • Linking response with front line health workers
  • Novel approaches to communicable diseases surveillance and reporting (e.g., notifiable conditions, MRSA, nosocomial infections)
  • Borderless data exchange models (e.g. federated information sharing approaches)
  • Surveillance in resource-limited settings

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Student

If you are a student, your submission can be considered for the ISDS ‘Award for Outstanding Student Abstract.’ For the purposes of this award, a “student” is defined as anyone enrolled in an undergraduate, graduate, or equivalent program in a surveillance-related field. In order to be considered for the award you needed to submit an abstract and complete the online application. For more information about the Award, please click here.

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Review Criteria

A submitted abstract will be reviewed based on the following criteria:

Relevance: Subject is timely and relevant to the conference, theme, and the community, and is likely to engage the conference attendees.

Originality: Material provides new insights or approach to solving a problem that is novel or innovative; body of work advances knowledge or program development.

Methodology: The methodology, data analysis (if applicable), and interpretation are appropriate. The conclusions are valid and supported by the results, and the implications of the findings are clearly stated.

Quality: The abstract is well-written, including clearly stated purpose and objectives. If applicable, tables, graphs and other images included are readily understandable and valuable.

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