2014 Abstract Submission System Submission Guidelines

69th Canadian Rheumatology Association Annual Scientific Meeting

Arthritis Health Professions Association Annual Scientific Meeting

Call for Abstracts

Attendees at the 2014 Canadian Rheumatology Association Annual Scientific Meeting and the Arthritis Health Professions Association Annual Scientific Meeting are invited to submit abstracts for presentation during the meeting.  We encourage you to submit abstracts relating to original research, systematic reviews or meta-analyses. Case reports or case series are acceptable. Project proposals without data or results will not be accepted. Although research presented at another meeting can be submitted, priority will be given to research which has not been previously presented.

The purpose of this meeting is to showcase the various research endeavours of the Canadian Rheumatology Association (CRA) and the Arthritis Health Professions Association (AHPA) members as well as to foster research collaboration and exchange of ideas.

• During the on-line submission process, you will be asked to enter the first author, the first author’s contact information, and the names and e-mail addresses of all co-authors (as well as the email of an optional additional correspondent, ie. Submitter).
• Please ensure the e-mail address of the first author is accurate, as this will be the sole method of communication regarding acceptance. If necessary, change of email address must be sent to Virginia@rheum.ca.
• There is a limit of 400 words for each abstract. This does not include abstract title and author names. Longer submissions will be cut off at the word limit.
• All submissions must be input (typed or copied) into the correct field.  There is no uploading of abstract files.
• No tables or graphs will be accepted.
• Each page of the submission process is automatically saved. 
• You will receive an e-mail confirmation for each submission. 
• In order to successfully receive emails regarding your abstract submission, you must add ‘@owpm.com’ as a safe sender in your mail client. Click here for help adding safe senders.

Submission Process

• There are 2 categories of submissions: investigator-initiated abstracts and industry-initiated abstracts.
• You may work on your abstract until the abstract submission deadline (October 21st).
• Deadline for submission is October 21st, 23:59 PDT. Abstracts submitted after the deadline will not be accepted.
• Your abstract submission will not be complete, nor will the abstract be reviewed until payment is made. Deadline for payment is October 21st. Online payment is available during the submission process. The following non-refundable fees will be charged: $30.00 (plus HST) for investor-initiated abstracts and $100.00 (plus HST) for industry-initiated abstracts. 
• Only online abstract submissions will be accepted.

Guidelines

• An author submitting an abstract or case report MUST be prepared to present their work at the meeting in person or to send a co-author to do so otherwise the poster will not be presented and the abstract will not be published in the Journal of Rheumatology. There will be two poster sessions at the 2014 meeting, date and time TBD. Please ensure you make your travel arrangements to be able to attend the poster session to which you have been assigned.
• An acceptance/rejection email will be sent out on or about December 31, 2013.  
• By submitting an abstract for consideration, all authors agree to abide by the rules outlined above, and the conditions, deadlines, policies and decisions of the CRA organizing committee.

Review

• Abstracts will be blindly reviewed & graded by members of the CRA Abstract Review Committee.

Oral Presentations

• The CRA Abstract Review Committee will choose outstanding abstracts suitable for oral presentation.
• Trainee abstracts will be chosen for oral presentations (date TBD) as part of the scientific meeting and will enter a competition for trainee research awards. Trainees include medical students, residents, rheumatology fellows and post-graduate students. Individuals holding a Faculty appointment do not qualify as trainees. When submitting an abstract for oral presentation, trainees must choose one of three categories: Basic Science, Clinical, or topics related to SLE.
• Oral presentations of original investigator-initiated research will be selected from abstracts to be presented during a plenary session (date TBD).

Awards

These awards have been established to recognize exceptional research presented as an Abstract and to encourage participation of young faculty and trainees at the CRA Annual Scientific Meeting. The first author must be identified as a Young Faculty or Trainee during the application process.

• Best Pediatric Research Presented as an Abstract by Young Faculty*
• Best Basic Science Research Presented as an Abstract by Young Faculty*
• Best Clinical Research Presented as an Abstract by Young Faculty*
• Best Epidemiology/Health Services Research Presented as an Abstract by Young Faculty*
  *The first author must be a CRA member in good standing and must be no more than 7 years after being established as an independent investigator
• Best Abstract for Clinical or Epidemiology Research by a Trainee**
• Best Abstract for SLE Research by a Trainee**
• Best Abstract for Basic Science Research by a Trainee **
  **Trainees include PhD Master, medical students, residents and fellows.
• Best Abstract for Research by a Rheumatology Resident ***
  ***The first author must be a PGY4, PGY 5 and PGY6 in rheumatology (or a new faculty if the work was done during rheumatology residency).
• Best Abstract for Research by an Undergraduate Student
  

Presentation Format

• The abstracts for both Oral and Poster presentations will be published in the Journal of Rheumatology following their rules regarding publication rights. Submitting an abstract to the CRA meeting obliges the submitter to allow the abstract to be printed according to the rules of the Journal of Rheumatology.
• All abstracts will be available online for downloading prior to the meeting. 
• All abstracts must be presented in the following format: 1. Objective(s); 2. Method(s); 3. Result(s); 4. Conclusion(s). Do not include educational qualifications, industry support, introductions, historical data, or literature reviews/bibliographies in the text of the abstract.
• Disclosures and conflicts of interest must be reported in the appropriate section.
• All presentations (oral and posters) must be presented in English.
• Poster size will be indicated in the acceptance notification.
• QR Codes will be allowed on posters. The QR code should allow participants to view the poster online without any form of advertising or promotional material.
• All Abstracts must be submitted in English.

Disclosures and conflict of interest

A conflict of interest may exist if an author or co-author has a financial interest in, or is otherwise affiliated with, a commercial organization that may have a direct or indirect interest in the content of his/her submission. CRA requires that all authors disclose such pertinent relationships and inform participants of these relationships at the time of submission. The presence of a potential conflict of interest does not preclude participation in the submission or presentation process but declaration informs participants of the affiliation so that they may be aware of possible bias in the content.
A “financial interest” may include but is not limited to:

• being a shareholder
• receiving research funding or other support
• receiving fees or other benefits for any role (including speaking at CPD activities)
• being a paid employee or consultant

An “affiliation” may include but is not limited to:

• holding a position in the organization
• sitting on an advisory committee
• playing some other role of benefit to the organization
  

Timeline

October 21, 2013	Abstract submission deadline.
December 31, 2013	Email notification of acceptance or rejection for all abstracts.
January 10, 2014	Poster session presenters (author or co-author) must confirm attendance at poster session.

 
Abstract Categories
Submitters can choose up to three of the following topics for their abstract:

Ankylosing Spondylitis Anti-Phosholipid Syndrome Arthritis Auto-Immune Diseases Basic Science Chronic Pain Clinical Research Education Epidemiology Fibromyalgia Genetics Gout or Crystalline Arthritis Health Economics Health Services Research Imaging of Rheumatic Disease Immunology

Infectious Arthritis Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis Musculoskeletal Examination Myositis Osteoarthritis Osteoporosis Pediatric Rheumatology Psoriatic Arthritis Public Health and Arthritis Reactive Arthritis Regional Pain Syndrome Rheumatoid Arthritis Sjogren’s Syndrome SLE / Anti-Phosholipid Syndrome Systemic Sclerosis Miscellaneous / Other

Questions?
For questions about the CRA abstract & case guidelines and process, please contact:

Virginia Hopkins
Administrative Assistant
Canadian Rheumatology Association
905-836-8019
virginia@rheum.ca