Call for Abstracts - Closed
The call for abstracts for the 8th Rural and Remote Health Scientific Symposium: Connecting research, practice and communities has now closed.
27 July 2021 – Abstract submitters will be advised if successful for presentation in the program.
Presentation options
Abstracts are invited for a variety of presentation types including 20-minute oral presentations and interactive workshops. The final program will be determined by the abstracts received after they have been reviewed by the Abstract Review Committee.
Oral presentations: allocated in 20-minute time slots on the program. These presentations will share current research on rural, regional and remote health issues. The presentations will be new research that will be instrumental in shaping issues and outcomes in the rural and remote health sector.
Workshop: allocated 90 minutes in a concurrent session. 500-word abstract to include details of topic, presenter(s), process and desired outcome.
Poster presentation: AO portrait (841mm x 1189mm) posters will be on display during the Symposium and authors should be available to discuss the poster’s content with delegates at the Symposium. Where possible, an electronic version of the poster (in pdf or jpg format) should be provided to inclusion on the Symposium website.
Categories and potential topics
The list of categories and potential topics is provided below to illustrate the breadth of interest of the Symposium. Categories and topics will be considered by the Abstract Review Committee when selecting program content.
Categories
Abstracts are sought in the following categories:
| Research | Research reports, using quantitative and/or qualitative methods that contribute to the evidence base. |
| Best practice | Practical research exploring the successes and failures of projects on the ground and models of successful service delivery. |
| Policy | Analysis of public policies, including but not necessarily exclusively in the health sector and its workforce |
| Digital health and technology | The collection, use and development of data to track problems and successes and enable insight and development. |
| Communities | What benefits and developments will enhance health and wellbeing for communities |
Potential topics
The scope of the Symposium is broad, and the list of potential topics is provided to illustrate some of the areas that abstracts might address.
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander research and health
- Mental health and suicide prevention
- Translating research into practice
- Digital health and technology
- Improving health equity
- Future workforce
- Best practice in rural research
- Emerging priorities
- Successful models and service designs
- Strategies for addressing ecological and social challenges
- Research in the COVID-19 era
- Remote health research
Abstract selection criteria
Abstract topics and categories will be considered by the Abstract Review Committee when ranking abstracts.
The criteria used by the Abstract Review Committee will be as follows:
- Symposium theme and topics: it will offer something significant or unique relating to one or more of the Symposium themes.
- Current and relevant: the presentation will have an emphasis on and/or relevance to current issues in research in rural and remote health.
- Analytical: the presentation will provide more than a description of a program, service or research project; it will draw out insights, what was learned, recommend new approaches and/or actions.
- Broadening research knowledge: it may promote understanding of the range of factors and disciplines that impact on research and workforce development and education.
- Quality: it is of high quality scientifically and/or in other ways.
- Reflective: it will draw together prior insights or activity with the view to developing more effective approaches
Program allocation
All abstracts will be blind reviewed by the Abstract Review Committee. The Program Committee will then select presentations based on forming a program with a comprehensive and diverse focus on issues related to the Symposium topics.
The Program Committee will determine the number of concurrent sessions, and the mix of presentations based on the abstracts received.
Format of abstracts
An abstract should summarise the important points of the proposed presentation and highlight the content to be communicated. Abstracts should be concise yet informative, and contain an outline of the aims, methods, relevance, results and conclusions of the work undertaken.
- Abstracts should be no longer than 500 words.
- Abstract titles should be no more than 12 words.
- Abstracts should not include author details. The blind review process requires the abstracts to be anonymous. However, as part of the online submission process, you will be asked to provide author details separately.
- Abstracts should not include tables, figures or references.
- Be accompanied by a 200-word biography for the presenting author.
Successful abstracts terms and conditions
Authors of successful abstracts will be offered a place on the Symposium program and will be required to:
- confirm acceptance of a place on the program in writing;
- provide a 200-word biography for each presenter (if not already provided); and
- register and pay for attendance at the Symposium.