Call for Abstracts

Environment Section Call for Abstracts
APHA Annual Meeting, Philadelphia
Water and Public Health: The 21st Century Challenge
Nov. 7-11, 2009

 

The Environment Section is seeking abstracts and full session proposals for the 2009 APHA Annual Meeting on "Water and Public Health: The 21st Century Challenge" to be held Nov. 7-11, 2009, in Philadelphia. A clean and adequate water supply is essential for public health, and many of the environmental health challenges facing the world today involve water in some capacity. From climate change to biofuels, water and sewer infrastructure to drinking water contaminants, water emerges as a component of many current and emerging environmental public health issues.

Deadlines:
FULL SESSION PROPOSALS DUE: Jan. 22, 2009
SUCCESSFUL FULL SESSION PROPOSAL APPLICANTS NOTIFIED: February 2, 2009
INDIVIDUAL ABSTRACTS DUE: Feb. 13, 2009
INDIVIDUAL ABSTRACTS FOR ACCEPTED FULL SESSION PROPOSALS DUE: April 17, 2009
STUDENT POSTER ABSTRACTS DUE: Feb. 13, 2009

NOTE: Per APHA policy - All accepted presenters are required to register for the conference and join APHA if not already a member. A limited number of one-day free passes may be given to nonmembers who are invited to speak as part of a full session.

TOPICS OF INTEREST

The section encourages you to submit abstracts describing research studies, innovative policies, or programs that address an environmental health problem. While abstracts reflecting any innovative work highlighting environmental health will be reviewed, the Environment Section will place emphasis on abstracts related to the following topics:

  • Built Environment (ex: housing, relationships between health and urban infrastructure, urbanization, sewer/water infrastructure, recycled water)
  • Children's Environmental Health (ex: environmental risks at home and at school, environmental health risks with disproportionate impacts on children, pharmaceuticals in drinking water)
  • Clean Air and Water (ex: pollution, waterborne disease, water scarcity, tertiary water purification systems, microbial risk assessment)
  • Climate Change (coastal impacts and health, climate change and water quality, food and climate change, energy and climate change)
  • Ecosystems and Human Health (ex: sustainable use of land, resources or energy; interactions between ecosystems and human health; natural disasters, dying oceans, toxic exposure in subsistence fishing communities, geological sequestration systems, flooding, harmful algal blooms)
  • Emerging Environmental Health Challenges (ex: persistent bioaccumulative toxins, endocrine disruptors, biotechnology, nanotechnology, emerging infectious disease and environment, pharmaceuticals in drinking water)
  • Environmental Justice and Health Disparities (ex: influence of social, economic, or cultural factors on environmental health risks; exposure, impact, or policy inequities; inequities in sewer/water infrastructure and access to clean water; water shortages)
  • Food and the Environment (ex: food contamination in production or distribution, environmental impacts of the current food system, sustainable food production, food and climate change, food and farm policy; water scarcity and water requirements for current food system)
  • Global Environmental Health (ex: climate change and water, international environmental health, transboundary pollution and waste (especially impacts on water), impacts of global economy, drinking water purification)
  • Science to Support Decision-making and Policies (ex: biomonitoring, environmental health tracking, health impact assessment, energy use with water distribution systems)
  • Student Achievement Poster Award Track (submit abstract for consideration for the Environment Section’s Student Achievement Poster Award)
  • Support for Local Environmental Health (ex: infrastructure, fostering leadership, workforce, unregulated water systems (e.g. wells, septic), climate change)

The topics and examples listed above are meant to stimulate ideas for abstract submission. The topics are not exhaustive or mutually exclusive. In fact, the Section encourages integrative approaches to environmental health. When choosing a track for abstract submission, authors should select the one they feel best represents the major focus of the abstract.

DESCRIPTIONS OF SESSION FORMATS

Oral Session: 90 minute session with 4 or 5 presentations of 10 to 20 minutes in length.
Poster Session: Sets of 10 posters organized and presented together within a 60-minute session.
Roundtable Session: 90 minute session with a set of round tables where each table has a different speaker. Participants rotate from table to table to participate in different discussions. NOTE: Audiovisual equipment (e.g., computer, LCD projector, etc.) is not available during roundtable sessions.
Panel Discussion: 90 minute session comprised of 4-5 panelists discussing a specific topic or set of closely related topics.

Please note that learning objectives are required for each submitted abstract. Guidance and information about appropriate learning objectives can be found at: http://apha.confex.com/apha/learningobjectives.htm

Continuing Education Credit
APHA values the ability to provide continuing education credit to physicians, nurses and health educators at its annual meeting. Please complete all required information when submitting an abstract so members can claim credit for attending your session. These credits are necessary for members to keep their licenses and credentials.

For a session to be eligible for Continuing Education Credit, each presenter must provide:
1. an abstract free of trade and/or commercial product names.
2. at least one MEASURABLE objective (to understand or to learn are not measurable objectives). Examples of acceptable measurable action words: explain, demonstrate, analyze, formulate, discuss, compare, differentiate, describe, name, assess, evaluate, identify, design, define or list.
3. A signed Conflict of Interest form with a relevant qualification statement.

Thank you for your assistance in making your session credit worthy. Contact Annette Ferebee at www.annette.ferebee@apha.org  if you have any questions.

PROPOSALS FOR FULL SESSIONS: Deadline Jan. 22, 2009

Proposals for full sessions are welcome. Full sessions are comprised of invited speakers who will address different aspects of the same topic of high interest. A variety of formats are acceptable including oral sessions, roundtables, and panel discussions. To submit a proposal, you must:

1. Request the Full Invited Session Proposal Form from the program planners at: apha.environment@yahoo.com  
2. Return completed Proposal Form to the program planners at: apha.environment@yahoo.com  
3. Proposal Form must be received BEFORE 5:00 p.m. EST, Jan. 22, 2009

If a Full Session Proposal is accepted, the applicant will be notified by Feb. 2, 2009. Submitter(s) will then be directed to enter the individual abstracts comprising the full session online during the APHA window for invited/solicited abstract submissions, March 16, 2009 to April 17, 2009. If the Full Session Proposal is not accepted, the Environment Section encourages submission of the individual abstracts by Feb. 9, 2009.

INDIVIDUAL ABSTRACT CONTRIBUTIONS: Deadline Feb. 13, 2009

PRESENTATION FORMATS: Please state your preferred format
1. Oral presentations are organized into 90 minute sessions with 4 or 5 presentations of 10 to 20 minutes in length.
2. Poster presentations are organized into sets of 10 within a 60-minute session.
3. Other possible formats include round tables or panel discussions.

ABSTRACT REQUIREMENTS:
Research Presentations
Abstracts describing research projects or case studies should focus on new knowledge of environmental health issues. The presentation and abstract should include the purpose of the study, a hypothesis or study question, detailed methods and results, and specific conclusions.

Policy or Program Presentations
Policy or program abstracts should describe the application of knowledge to real-world problems or policies. The presentation and abstract should include a problem statement and specific conclusions describing resolution of the problem. Strong preference will be given to abstracts that include systematic assessment of the policy or program, with detailed description of methods and findings.

All abstracts will be peer-reviewed and ranked for quality, topic applicability, adherence to abstract requirements, and relation to overall Section priorities. Every effort will be made to accommodate the author's presentation preference for accepted abstracts (e.g., oral presentation or poster). However, the Environment Section may not be able to accommodate all presentation preferences. To submit your abstract, you must:

1. Submit online via APHA's Web site (If you do not have Internet access, please contact the APHA Program Staff for specific instructions).
2. Complete all specified steps and click "SUBMIT ABSTRACT".
3. Check that abstract is 250 words or less 250 words (abstracts over 250 words will not be accepted).
4. Submit online by 5:00 pm EST, Feb. 13, 2009.

STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT POSTER AWARD TRACK: Deadline Feb. 13, 2009

Students of programs in environmental health, public health, and other health related fields are encouraged to submit abstracts pertaining to their academic research. Interested students should submit their abstract into the Environment Section's "Student Achievement Poster Award Track." Please note that abstracts submitted into other topic related tracks will not be considered for the award.

Students must submit an abstract including a well thought out study purpose and detailed methods (250 words or less). Submitted abstracts will be reviewed for relevance to environmental health and the student's clarity in describing the work that will be or has been done. While it is understood results may not be available by the Feb. 13, 2009, abstract submission deadline, it is expected that final student posters will include details about the study purpose, methods, results and specific conclusions.

Up to ten abstracts will be selected for poster presentation during the Environment Section's Student Achievement Poster Award Session. During the poster session, students and their posters will be judged for presentation style, knowledge of the subject matter, and project quality. Up to three finalists will be honored at the Environment Section Social Hour.

Eligibility requirements:

1. Work must have been completed by the student as part of an environmental health, public health, or other health related degree program.
2. A student must be enrolled for enough credit hours during fall semester 2009 to be considered in good standing as at least a part-time student, or have graduated from their program between May-August 2009. If the abstract is accepted for presentation, proof of student status will be requested.
3. The student must be the first and presenting author on their contributed abstract.
4. To be eligible for an award the student must present the work at the APHA meeting and attend the Environment Section Social Hour (extenuating circumstances that prevent a student from presenting at APHA and attending the Environment Section Social Hour will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis).
5. Students that have received an award in previous years are not eligible to resubmit unless they are working on a different degree.

STUDENT TRAVEL AWARDS
A limited number of student travel awards are available. It is not necessary to submit an abstract to be eligible for a travel award; however, extra consideration will be given to students who submit an abstract. For information about travel awards, contact Nse Witherspoon at nobot@cehn.org.

APHA FILM AND TECHNOLOGY THEATER
All abstracts of papers to be considered for presentation in the Film and Technology Theater must first be submitted to a Section, SPIG, Caucus or Forum for content review. If you are submitting to the Environment Section but want to be considered for the Film and Technology Theater, please check the box on the submission form to indicate your presentation requires use of the Film and Technology Theater. Technology dependent presentations will be shown in the morning sessions and public health films will be shown in the afternoon.

The Film and Technology Theater is a venue for live presentations of information and computer technology applications for public health and for the showing of public health films and related audiovisuals. It is a fully equipped meeting room with Internet access, LCD projection capability, and theater-quality video projection and stereo audio and is available for presenters who need to show a film or whose abstracts/sessions are technology-based and technology-dependent.

PROGRAM PLANNER CONTACT INFORMATION:

Kacee Deener, MPH
Office of Research and Development
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Ave NW (8601P)
Washington, DC 20460-0001
Phone: (703) 347-8514

Yolanda Sanchez, MS, MPA
Office of Research and Development
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Ave NW (8723F)
Washington, DC 20460-0001
Phone: (202) 343-9613

To ensure the quickest and safest handling of your inquiry, request or Full-Session Proposal, please use the following e-mail address and not the program planners' work e-mail: apha.environment@yahoo.com
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