Call for Abstracts

After formatting your abstract to fit our guidelines, you can submit your abstracts through our abstract submission portal. The 2024 portal is now closed.

We are seeking 15 minute oral presentations and poster presentations. Submissions are limited to 250 words and should follow the traditional format of Background, Methods, Results, and Conclusion/Discussion. Selected abstracts will contain the following: relevance to refugee health, sample size, results/outcomes, new and innovative data, and be well written. (See our tips for NARHC abstracts below for more pointers).

When entering the abstract submission program you will be prompted to identify if you are submitting for an oral presentation or poster. Reviewers may change that designation based on their review. You will also be prompted to identify which category your abstract addresses: Advocacy, Chronic Disease, Community, Education/Research, Infectious Disease, Mental Health, Models of Care, Nutrition and Body, Pediatrics, Screening, Vaccines, or Women’s Health.

Scientific abstracts are also eligible for our Annual Student and Trainee Abstract Award (more details about the criteria for this award are below).

1. If you presented at past NARHCs, please make sure that your latest abstract offers new insights or updated information. We welcome repeat presenters but want to offer attendees new information that they haven’t seen in previous years.

2. Follow the traditional format of Background, Methods, Results and Conclusion.

a. Background: what is known about your topic and what is not known, and what the study or program intended to study/do (indicating how it was new/innovative). Keep this brief, just one or two sentences.

b. Methods: what your study/program did and how (e.g., research design; objectives; study/program duration; how participants were sampled).

c. Results: as detailed as possible; include sample size and measurement of outcomes. Quantitative studies should include actual numeric results and statistics, e.g. odds ratios or P Qualitative studies should include thematic analysis results.

d. Conclusion: what you want people to take away from this study/program, and the importance of these findings for refugee health.

3. Well-designed studies with scientific questions, hypotheses, and larger sample sizes (as appropriate for quantitative and qualitative research) are more competitive than purely descriptive studies that do not test hypotheses and those with small sample sizes.

4. These abstracts are intended to provide an overview and results of a single study or program. Only abstracts with final results are eligible for submission. Abstracts with preliminary results, or for early/conceptual projects, are unlikely to be selected.

5. Case presentations will not be selected for oral abstracts.

We are seeking submissions for workshops and panel discussions. These are one hour time slots to provide in-depth coverage of a topic. You will be prompted to identify which category your workshop addresses: Advocacy, Chronic Disease, Community, Education/Research, Infectious Disease, Mental Health, Models of Care, Nutrition and Body, Pediatrics, Screening, Vaccines, or Women’s Health.

You will be asked to include a brief description of your background experience facilitating similar workshops, your expertise on the topic, and how you plan on conducting the workshop.

Workshop abstracts should be a maximum of 250 words plus 3 keywords. The subheadings should be:

a. Background/Rationale: describe the rationale for the workshop, drawing upon theory and/or evidence as applicable.

b. Content: describe the workshop objectives and 2-3 key points you will be making.

c. Instructional methods: briefly describe the instructional methods to be used during the workshop.

1. These sessions are meant to provide in-depth coverage of a topic. Ensure that your abstract merits an hour-long session versus the 15 minutes for an oral presentation.

2. Your abstract should include a review of multiple studies and literature or give a detailed overview of the topic. Presenters are expected to present currently accepted guidelines and/or suggested guidelines based on evidenced-based findings.

3. Workshops focusing on a single study or program will be less competitive. Workshops should not be used to promote a particular clinical or community program as a best practice without rigorous outcomes evaluation to support that assertion.

4. Workshops and panel discussions should be interactive, engage with the audience and impart practical knowledge/skills relevant to NARHC attendees. Abstracts that include significant participant engagement are more likely to be selected.

5. Abstracts should follow this format: a maximum of 250 words plus 3 keywords. The subheadings should follow the below format.

a. Background/Rationale: describe the rationale for the workshop, drawing upon theory and/or evidence as applicable.

b. Content: describe the workshop objectives and 2-3 key points you will be making.

c. Instructional methods: briefly describe the instructional methods to be used during the workshop.

1. Don’t submit incomplete work.

2. Adhere to the word/character count for the title and abstract text (250 words).

3. Spell out acronyms.

4. Don’t write in the future tense.

5. References are not needed.

6. Program/best practice recommendations should include a rigorous outcomes assessment.

7. Qualitative research is welcome and encouraged, as is mixed methods.

8. Only submit case studies (or anecdotal work) if they are particularly unique or novel. If selected, these will most likely be assigned as a poster presentation.

9. Literature reviews should be accompanied by a theoretical model and critical analysis.

10. Ensure that your abstract is well-written and free of typos and grammatical errors.

11. Specify the relevance of your work to refugee health and the conference.

12. Abstracts should include new/innovative data on emerging trends in refugee health.

The winning author will receive a $500 award from the Society of Refugee Healthcare Providers in addition to a guarantee of publication in the Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health.

The runner-up will receive the same publication opportunity and be awarded $250.

*The manuscripts must be submitted to the Journal within six months of the date of the conference, and publication is conditional on submission of a manuscript that meets standards and approval for publication set by the Journal’s editorial staff.

To qualify for the award, students must meet the following criteria:

1. Submit an abstract of original research in refugee health through the conference abstract submission system. Non-research abstracts will not be considered.

2. Lead author must be a full-time student at an accredited college or university, a resident physician, or a post-graduate fellow.

3. Submit a cover letter stating the lead author’s desire to be considered for the award and describing the above criteria, as well as pledging to attend the conference if given the award or runner-up status, submit a manuscript to the Journal, and work with the Journal’s editors to ensure that the manuscript is publishable.

4. Submit a letter from a faculty adviser or mentor on college, university or hospital letterhead providing evidence of the student/trainee’s enrollment at an accredited program; and,

5. Be a member of the Society of Refugee Healthcare Providers at the time of abstract submission.

Authors should submit the cover and nomination letters as well as an additional copy of the abstract to Dr. Sana Loue at sxl54@case.edu, Sarah Clarke at sarah@refugeesociety.org and Dr. Paul Geltman at paul.geltman@mass.gov.

All supporting materials must be received by email before the call for abstracts closes.