Page Contents:
Call for Abstract Submissions
Presentation Types
Secondary Presentation Types
Discipline-Specific Themes
Student
Review Criteria
Submit Abstract
Call for Abstract Submissions
Abstract submissions are now being accepted for presentation at the 2015 International Society for Disease Surveillance (ISDS) Conference to be held in Denver, Colorado, December 9-10, 2015. The theme for this year’s conference- Harnessing Data to Advance Health Equity- will highlight key challenges voiced by the public health surveillance community, and include strategies for incorporating the latest approaches, methodologies, and results into data-driven practices, programs, and policies. Submissions that address the conference theme, especially novel approaches to advance health equity as well as the effective translation of evidence into surveillance practice are encouraged.The ISDS conference is the premier annual scientific gathering for researchers and practitioners involved in biosurveillance. The conference attracts individuals from 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 2015 ISDS Conference will feature internationally renowned speakers from health departments, leading academic institutions, government agencies, international health agencies and top industrial organizations.The 2015 Scientific Program Committee is seeking abstracts that focus on automated or timely collection of pre-diagnostic or diagnostic data from clinical information systems to inform infectious disease, chronic disease, and injury public health surveillance; near-real-time surveillance to support early event detection, event characterization, case finding, clinical decision support, hypothesis development, situational awareness, or evaluation of public health interventions; and development of methodologies that provide flexible tools to complement traditional surveillance systems and registries.
Abstracts accepted for presentation at the 2015 ISDS Conference will be published in a special supplement of the Online Journal of Public Health Informatics.
Guidelines for Abstract Submission
- Incomplete abstracts will not be accepted. Each abstract must be structured according to specifications on the submission website for the corresponding submission type.
- Abstracts are limited to 4,810 characters
- Including: spaces, title, authors, institutions, objectives, introduction, methods, results, conclusions, acknowledgements, references, equations, tables, images, and keywords. Tables, images and equations will calculate character number based on size.
- Not Including: presenting author brief biographical summaries (bios) or the abstract summary that will be used in the conference program.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 8, 2014).
- 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.
- Presentation Type 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 for the ‘Secondary Presentation Type’ field (Step 3: Properties) 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Submit abstract(s)
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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 2014 ISDS Conference Abstract (Oral)
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 sample2014 ISDS Conference Abstract (Poster)
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 2014 ISDS Conference Abstract (Panel)
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 2014 ISDS Conference Abstract (Roundtable)
Lightning Talk
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 their 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. A webinar outlining in detail the format for lightning talks will be held in early summer. 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 2014 ISDS Conference Abstract (Lightning Talk)
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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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Discipline-Specific Themes
Please choose the theme that best identifies your submission.
Analytics/Methodologies
This theme is focused on important and novel advances in the field of public health 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.
- Novel algorithms, statistical or mathematical method
- Data fusion/integration
- Pattern recognition
- Geospatial analysis
- Evaluation through epidemic simulation
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.
- Information system architectures, development and implementation
- Information system adoption, utilization, and flexibility
- Language processing, classifiers, and syndrome definitions
- Data sources, standards, exchange, visualization, and quality
Policy (at local, state, federal, international levels)
Abstracts in this category may present analyses of existing public health and/or information policies affecting surveillance; governance of surveillance data collection, management or usage; or approaches for using surveillance systems and data to address health and/or public health challenges and inform policy.
- System evaluation and best practices
- Data sharing and collaboration strategies across jurisdictions
- Surveillance policy (e.g., meaningful use impact, system maintenance and governance, workforce training)
- Preparing for transitions
- Community engagement
Public/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 human and animal surveillance in a production environment by public health departments or other agencies or describe evaluations of public health surveillance, health systems research, etc.
- One Health
- Surveillance in low resource countries
- Communicable disease surveillance use cases for human, animal and zoonotic diseases
- Non-infectious disease surveillance use cases (injury, chronic, violence, drug use, mental health, etc.)
- Population health analysis of patient-centered, health system outcomes
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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 need to be an ISDS member (Student rate: $30 – if you are not currently a member, you may join here), and will need to submit an abstract and complete the online application.
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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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