Call for Late-Breaking Research

Submission Deadline: June 28, 2023

Procedures

1. Presenters of accepted abstracts are expected to register and pay appropriate registration fees for at least the day of the presentation. No reimbursement or honoraria will be given for paper or poster presentations.
2. All authors must be added prior to submission. A maximum of 8 authors can be included per abstract. Co-authors and/or presenting authors cannot be added post acceptance.
3. Abstracts are to be no more than 300 words (not including title or author block).
4. All research abstracts must include the following:
   • Objective
   • Design
   • Setting (Do not list formal institutional name)
   • Participants
   • Interventions (If your study does not contain any interventions, then insert: “Interventions: not applicable.”) 
   • Main Outcome Measures
   • Level of Evidence
   • Results
   • Conclusion
5. When preparing an abstract, authors are requested to abide by the following general guidelines:
   • Authors must not submit abstracts that constitute promotion of a product or service (see policy regarding Commercialism below).
   • Authors may not use tables, graphs, or figures in the abstract submission process.
   • Authors may not list references in the abstract.
   • Authors must report the level of evidence of research studies.
     • For research abstract submissions: Submitters will need to select a level of evidence from Level I-V.
     • For Program Descriptions (clinical/educational/other): Submitters will select Level V.
   • Authors must spell, in full, on first introduction of all acronyms or abbreviations used.
   • All numbers should be presented in Arabic numeral form, including numbers from 1 to 10.
   • If you refer to brand name drugs, the generic name must be provided.
   • We request that non-fluent English speakers have their abstracts edited prior to submission by a proficient English speaker.

Review Process

The Evidence Committee will evaluate each abstract based on the components of the structured abstract.

• Acceptance/Rejection notification will be sent via e-mail this summer.
  
• The Review Committee reserves the right to assign presentation times to suit program needs. If posters are not assigned to a presentation time, they will still be displayed within AAPM&R’s Research Hub in the PM&R Pavilion throughout the duration of Annual Assembly and within the Virtual Platform online. Registrants will be able to peruse the e-posters at their leisure by using the self-directed digital e-poster kiosks. 
• An accepted abstract should be withdrawn from the Annual Assembly presentation and publication if it has been accepted for presentation and/or publication prior to Annual Assembly.
• Accepted abstracts will be minimally edited for style and format and published in conjunction with PM&R, the Academy’s scientific journal. The abstract will be available in electronic format in conjunction with PM&R.

The top ranked research submitted may be selected for inclusion in the “Research Spotlight Podium Presentation” didactic session being held at the 2023 Annual Assembly.

Podium Presentation: A 7-minute oral presentation of the methodology, results, and conclusions of completed studies. Completed experimental studies or well-controlled epidemiologic studies may be presented in this forum. 

Commercialism and Disclosure Statements

1. Presentations that constitute promotion or advertising will be rejected. Pervasive or inappropriate use of commercial/trade names is not allowed. Generic names create a sense of impartiality that are the accepted standard of practice in submitting scientific abstracts and are strongly encouraged. No advertising matter of any description may be distributed, nor may any material be displayed that directly promotes the commercial interest of any particular company, enterprise, or the author(s).
2. Presenters must disclose any relevant financial interest in relationship with or support from manufacturers of any commercial product(s). AAPM&R will determine if there is a conflict of interest and will take all appropriate steps to resolve.
3. Presenters must disclose the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance status of medical devices and pharmaceuticals for the uses discussed or described in the presentation. "Off label" uses of a device or pharmaceutical may be described in the presentation as long as the lack of FDA clearance for this is also disclosed.
4. Statements made in presentations are the sole responsibility of the author(s). Statements should not be viewed as, or representative of, any formal stance or position taken on any product, subject, or issue by the Academy or Wiley.
5. To be considered for any AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™-designated activities at the 2022 Annual Assembly (i.e.,  Research Spotlight Podium or Poster Presentations), presenting authors must be medical professionals, MD or MD-equivalent, who are not employed by a pharmaceutical or device manufacturing company.

Example of a Structured Abstract

TITLE: New Wheelie Aid for Wheelchairs: Controlled Trial of Safety and Efficacy 
PRIMARY AUTHORS: Jane Doe 
INSTITUTIONS: Amazing Academic Medical Center 
PRESENTATION TYPE: Original Research Abstract 
CURRENT CATEGORY: General Rehabilitation 
ABSTRACT BODY: 
Objective (Abstracts Only): To test hypotheses that people learning to perform aided wheelies (AW) with a new self-deploying wheelie aid (WA) are safer than those using the conventional wheelie (CW), are more successful at learning the skills, learn more quickly, and find such skills less difficult. 
Case Diagnosis (Case Reports Only): 
Design (Abstracts Only): Randomized, controlled study. 
Setting (Required for Abstracts and Case Reports): Wheelchair obstacle course 
Participants (Abstracts Only): 42 subjects randomly assigned to the CW (n=23) or AW (n=19) groups. 
Case Description (Case Reports Only):
Interventions (Abstracts Only): We performed static tests on a WA -modified wheelchair occupied by a test dummy, and attempted to teach each subject to perform a set of 14 wheelie-related skills. 
Discussion (Case Reports Only):
Main Outcome Measures (Abstracts Only): Visual analog scale (VAS) of safety, percentage of subjects able to learn the skills, the time required, and subjective difficulty scores (from 1 for "very easy" to 5 for "very difficult"). 
Results (Abstracts) or Assessment/Results (Case Reports): Up to 11° of anti-tip device stability was available without the WA extending beyond the rearmost aspect of the rear wheel in the resting position. For the CW and AW groups, the mean ± standard deviation VAS safety scores were 43%±27% and 98%±2%.
Conclusions (Required for Abstracts and Case Reports): The WA provides stability and wheelie-like function without interfering with maneuverability. Although both groups were equally successful, learning to perform AW is safer, fast, and less difficult than learning CWs.
Level of Evidence - Abstract Submission Role: Level II 
Financial Disclosures: None
Reprinted with permission.

Questions regarding abstract submissions? Email abstracts@aapmr.org.