Abstract Submission

Please Note: The closing date for Abstract Submissions has been extended until Tuesday 10th December 2019.

Call for Abstracts

The Congress Scientific Program Committee of the IOA invites you to submit an abstract for the International Orthoptic Congress Liverpool 2020. We welcome abstracts in all aspects of orthoptic practice, ranging from binocular vision, amblyopia and strabismus to neuro-ophthalmology, low vision, technological advances and eye disease.  This meeting aims to have something for everyone from traditional orthoptics to extended practice and to provide perspectives from all domains including clinical, research and educational settings.

Format

The congress will be accepting presentations in the following formats:

  • Oral presentation
  • Poster presentation

Abstracts are being accepted for the Congress plenary and for the Education Forum Free Paper Session.

Abstract Guidelines

The abstract submission is open online from Wednesday 26th June 2019 to Wednesday 27th November 2019.

The IOA encourages submission of original, innovative work. Any work that has previously been published or is accepted for publication will not be accepted. Previously presented work must be disclosed and acceptance will be at the discretion of the Congress Scientific Programme Committee.

  • An abstract may only be submitted once.
  • You may submit a maximum of 2 abstracts as Presenting author. There is no limit to the number of abstracts submitted as a Co-author.
  • Abstracts must be submitted in English using the online abstract submission process. Abstracts will NOT be accepted by email or other methods.
  • The maximum abstract length is 450 words, excluding title, authors and institutions.
  • The body of your abstract should adhere to the following structure utilising four main headings: Purpose, Methods, Results and Conclusions.
  • The abstract title must be concise and without abbreviations.
  • All authors must be listed in the order in which they should appear on the printed abstract.
  • Abstracts should be checked for correct spelling and grammar.
  • Abstracts will not be accepted if the results section is still a ‘work in progress’ at the time of submission.  If final data collection is still in progress, you must produce sufficiently robust results in the abstract to stand alone and justify acceptance.
  • Do not include graphs, tables, images and references in the abstract.
  • Any and all financial interests of all authors of an abstract must be disclosed. This includes financial disclosures for the previous 2 years. See Commercial Relationships/ Financial Disclosure section below for more details.
  • Abstracts written or submitted by industry personnel will not be accepted.
  • All necessary permission must be obtained before submitting an abstract. The IOA assumes no responsibility for the publication of any submitted material.
  • You may choose your presentation format preference, however, all accepted abstracts will be assigned to a paper or poster presentation at the discretion of the reviewing committee. If your preferred format choice is not granted, you may withdraw your abstract.
  • By submitting an abstract, you as presenting author, agree to pay the full registration fee and attend the meeting.

A “Preparing your abstract” (Preparing Your Conference Abstract) document is provided for additional assistance on creating a conference abstract.

IOA Scientific Program Criteria

Ethical Approval: Studies should follow the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki and the research protocol should be reviewed and approved by an appropriate independent ethics committee or institutional review board.

No ethics review required for the following:

  • Case studies
  • Basic science not involving animals
  • Literature reviews
  • Observational case series (no treatment)

Ethics review required for the following:

  • Basic science involving animals
  • Chart reviews
  • Prospective/experimental design
  • Any research involving patient treatment
  • Anything with identifiable patient information


Commercial Relationships/ Financial Disclosure

To be provided continuing professional development credit hours the IOA must disclose to the program audience any real or apparent financial interests over the previous 2 years relevant to the content of a presentation(s) to ensure balance, independence, objectivity, and scientific rigor in all accredited educational activities. Declaration of financial interest is not intended to restrict any presentation but to inform the audience that this relationship exists.

All Presenters at the meeting MUST disclose any significant financial interest or other relationship over the previous 2 years with the manufacturer(s) of any commercial product(s) and/or provider(s) of any commercial services. In case of uncertainty it is better to err on full disclosure.

A financial interest is any relationship in which you may benefit by receiving salary, travel benefits, intellectual property rights, royalties, honoraria, stocks, stock options, consulting fees, speaking fees, membership fees, or any other financial benefit. Financial relationships pertain equally to your immediate family (i.e. spouse/partner or dependent child).

A disclosure statement slide will be required at the beginning of your presentation. You must identify and provide a brief description for any of the following categories that apply to your submission.

Category A Financial support received from commercial interest in the form of research funding, grants, research materials or in-kind services.
Category B Investor in a company or competing company, other than through a mutual or retirement fund.
Category C Consultant for a commercial interest.
Category D Inventor/developer designated on a patent, patent application, copyright, or trade secret, whether or not the patent, copyright, etc. is presently licensed or otherwise commercialised, or could be in competition with the technology described.
Category E Employee of a company with a commercial interest.
Category F Received gifts, honoraria, travel reimbursement, patent royalties, or any other financial compensation from a commercial interest.
Category G  Holds a non-remunerative position of influence such as officer, board member,    trustee, spokesperson, etc. in a company with a commercial interest.
Category N No commercial relationship relevant to the subject matter of the abstract/article/presentation.

See ‘For Presenters’ section for link to example slides.

Abstract Review and Acceptance

Abstracts are reviewed by the Congress Scientific Programme Committee. All abstracts are considered equally for selection, and the quality of the abstract is the single most important factor in the Committee’s decision.

Abstracts are chosen on the basis of originality, clinical relevance, comprehensiveness, solid scientific practice, ability to stimulate discussion and/or address an educational need. Abstracts that do not adhere to the Abstract Submission Guidelines will not be accepted. All emails of program acceptance will be sent to abstract authors no later than Wednesday 29th January 2020

See ‘For Presenters’ section for additional information related to Author responsibilities and editing or withdrawal of an accepted abstract.