Instructions For Abstracts

Unite For Sight encourages you to submit an abstract for presentation at the 2010 Global Health and Innovation Summit, a conference presented annually by Unite For Sight. The conference is for anyone interested or involved in international health and development, public health, eye care, medicine, social entrepreneurship, nonprofits, philanthropy, microfinance, human rights, anthropology, health policy, advocacy, public service, environmental health, and education. The goal of the conference is to exchange ideas about best practices to achieve global goals.

Abstract Categories:

The abstracts may be research-focused, clinical-focused, or program-focused.

  1. International Medicine and International Health
  2. Public Health
  3. Eye Care
  4. Scientific and Medical Laboratory-Based Research
  5. Clinical Research
  6. Advocacy and Health Policy
  7. Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship
  8. International Development
  9. International Education
  10. NGOs and Community-Based Programs

First Abstract Deadline: August 15, 2009

The first deadline for abstract submission is August 15. Abstracts submitted by August 15 will be considered for oral and poster presentation. Those interested in giving an oral presentation are encouraged to submit the abstract by August 15.

Final Abstract Deadline: September 15, 2009

The final deadline for abstract submission is September 15. Abstracts submitted by September 15 will be considered for poster presentation. If space remains available, some abstracts submitted by September 15 may be considered for oral presentation.

Instructions For Submitting Unite For Sight Conference Abstracts

Submit your abstract on the Conference Registration Page

  1. Abstracts must be no longer than 250 words. Longer abstracts will not be reviewed and will be automatically rejected.
  2. A 250-word (max) narrative biography is required at the time of the abstract submission. The bio should be a description of your educational and professional background. The bio must be submitted in paragraph form and should not be in list or curriculum vitae format.
  3. Submitting an abstract represents a commitment to attend the Unite For Sight Conference irrespective of acceptance of an abstract. Therefore, all persons submitting an abstract must register and submit payment to attend the Unite For Sight Conference at the time that they submit the abstract.
  4. An abstract will not be reviewed if the abstract submitter has not confirmed intent to attend the conference by registering and submitting payment to attend the conference.
  5. The abstract must be submitted at the same time as conference registration payment. Abstracts submitted separately will not be reviewed.
  6. If the abstract is selected for presentation at the conference, the author submitting the abstract must be the presenter at the conference. The presenter should be directly involved in or leading the research or program. Co-authors may register for the conference separately and attend the session, but they may not present.
    • If selected for oral presentation, only the abstract submitter may present at the conference and be listed in the program book.
    • If selected for poster presentation, the abstract submitter must be the presenter at the conference. Other authors on the poster may be listed in the conference program book.
  7. Applicants will be notified by e-mail whether their abstract was accepted by approximately November 15, 2009.
  8. The best abstract submissions will be given an option for oral presentation. All others that are accepted will be poster presentations.

Abstract Requirements & Frequently Asked Questions

How do I submit an abstract?

Go to the Conference Registration Page and submit an abstract at the time that you register. At the time that you submit your registration form and payment to attend the conference, your abstract will be submitted to Unite For Sight for review. You must submit your abstract at the same time that you submit your conference registration payment.

Who is eligible to submit an abstract?

Anyone may submit an abstract. Abstract submitters range from students to professionals.

What is the word limit?

Abstracts must be no longer than 250 words. Longer abstracts will not be reviewed and will be automatically rejected.

I have a coauthor. Whose name should be used as the primary author?

The conference participant who will be in attendance and presenting the abstract must submit the abstract under their name. If both authors will be in attendance, then either of you may submit the abstract. The author submitting the abstract must be the presenter at the conference, and this author will also receive all communication from Unite For Sight. Co-authors may not present at the conference.

How do I indicate my preferred method of presentation?

When you submit your abstract, please indicate your preferred method of presentation at the start of your 250-word abstract:

  • Oral Presentation Preferred
  • Poster Presentation Preferred
  • No Preference

If you do not indicate your preference at the time that you submit the abstract, it will be assumed that you have no preference.

What is the selection criteria?

Abstract submitters should ensure that their abstracts provide sufficient detail so that reviewers will be able to fully evaluate the author's work, research design, data, analysis, and results.

The abstract will be reviewed according to the following criteria:

  • Design/Methods: Describe how the program was implemented and how the data was collected and analyzed.
  • Original Data and Results/Outcome: What are the results and outcomes?
    This is the most important section of the abstract.
    • Research-focused abstracts: The abstract must delineate the statistical data.
    • Abstracts describing models or programs: The abstract must include metrics, including data, outcomes, and social impact. What change does the program work to achieve, how does the program measure the impact, and is the program achieving results?
    • Policy-focused abstracts: The abstract should describe a successful advocacy strategy and the social impact.
  • Relevance, Impact, and Importance: What are the implications of the findings? Why is this abstract important to global health, international development, and social entrepreneurship?
  • Quality of Abstract: The abstract must be well-written and demonstrate thought and attention to detail. The abstract must be clearly written with background, design/methods, original data and results/outcome, as well as a conclusion.

What type of abstracts should be submitted?

We welcome abstracts pertaining to all fields relevant in global health, international development, social entrepreneurship, medicine, and eye care.

The abstracts may be research-focused, clinical-focused, or program-focused.

  1. International Medicine and International Health
  2. Public Health
  3. Eye Care
  4. Scientific and Medical Laboratory-Based Research
  5. Clinical Research
  6. Advocacy and Health Policy
  7. Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship
  8. International Development
  9. International Education
  10. NGOs and Community-Based Programs

Why must I register to attend the conference at the time that I submit my abstract?

Submitting an abstract represents a commitment to attend the Unite For Sight Conference irrespective of acceptance of the abstract. Therefore, anyone who submits an abstract must register and submit payment to attend the Unite For Sight Conference. An abstract will not be reviewed if the abstract submitter has not confirmed intent to attend the conference by registering and submitting payment to attend the conference.

How do I know that my abstract was transmitted through the website?

Immediately upon submission of your registration, payment, and abstract, you will receive an email notification confirming receipt of your registration and payment. If you submitted an abstract on the registration form, your abstract will have also been received at the time that your registration and payment were received. If your registration and payment do not transmit properly, please review the page to be sure that you have filled in all of the required fields on the form.

Can I submit more than one abstract?

Each conference participant may submit only one abstract for presentation at the Unite For Sight Conference. If more than one abstract is submitted by the same conference participant, only the first abstract submitted will be considered.

If my abstract is accepted for oral presentation, what are the next steps?

  1. The abstract author will be notified that their abstract has been reviewed and accepted for oral presentation.
  2. The author will be required to submit an oral presenter agreement and a final 1-paragraph narrative bio in order to confirm their intent to give an oral presentation at the conference.
  3. Accepted presenters must adhere to deadlines and guidelines, and they must promptly respond to communication.

If accepted for poster presentation, what are the next steps?

  1. The abstract author will be notified that their abstract has been reviewed and accepted for poster presentation.
  2. The author will be required to submit a poster presenter agreement in order to confirm their intent to give a poster presentation at the conference.
  3. The author will be required to purchase a 36"x48" trifold poster board (cost: $15) onto which the author will affix the poster at the conference in April.
  4. Accepted presenters must adhere to deadlines and guidelines, and they must promptly respond to communication.

Who should I contact if I have other questions?

If you have any questions, please email ufs@uniteforsight.org

Global Health Conference

“
I have no words to express our gratitude for your hard work and untiring commitment towards the eye care work world wide and putting optimum effort to recruit all good volunteers for deployment. It gives me immense pleasure for such worth while partnership for restoring vision of thousands of eye sight from the remote and rural villages.
”
—Sarangadhar Samal, Director, NYSASDRI