Scientific Abstracts

Scientific abstracts report the results of original research and must contain data (either quantitative or qualitative) and report research results. Scientific abstracts can address a broad range of topics, including clinical epidemiology, health services research, health policy, health economics, social science, education, medical ethics, and others.

Key Dates

November 13, 2019: Submission portal opens ($75)
December 5, 2019 at 9:00 AM ET: Submission fee increases ($85)
January 16, 2020 at 9:00 AM ET: Submission portal closes
March 3, 2020: Acceptance notifications emailed (from submissions@sgim.org)
March 10, 2020: RSVP deadline

Submission Criteria

Submission Length

Scientific Abstract submissions are limited to 3,000 characters, including spaces.

Maximum character count limit applies only to these sections: 

• Background
• Methods
• Results
• Conclusions
• Tables/Graphics (if included)

Character count limit does not apply to author information

Submission Structure

1. Title (No all caps, quotes, underlining or bolding.)
2. Background (Describe the context and importance of the study and state the objective(s) of the study.)
3. Methods (Include a description of the methods used including study design, setting, population, measures, and analytic procedures.)
4. Results (Describe the results in sufficient detail to support the conclusions. Tabular or graphic results are acceptable. It is not satisfactory to state, "The results will be discussed" or "Other data will be presented.”  Abstracts that do not provide actual results will not be considered for publication or presentation.)
5. Conclusions (State the implications of the findings for clinical practice, research, education, or policy.)
6. Graphics (Optional. See below.)

Additional Details

1. Presentation Format (Select your presentation preference: Oral Presentation Only, Poster Only, No Preference. See below.)
2. Primary Submission Category (See below.)
3. Secondary Submission Category (Optional. See below.)
4. Award Eligibility (Optional. See below.)
5. Policy Implications (Has your work influenced policy at the clinic/health systems city, or state level? Yes/No)
6. Scheduling Restrictions for Presenting Authors (Optional. See below.)
7. Non-Commercial Funding Source (Optional. See below.)
8. Policy Verification (Confirm understanding of Submission Policies & Presenter Register Policy.)
9. Accuracy (Confirm accuracy of information submitted.)
10. Authors (Required. Name, Institution, City/State, Email.)

Graphics

• Scientific abstract submissions have the option to include either one table or one figure.
• Graphics should be compact and used only to display essential results, where textual presentation would be less efficient.
• Large tables and figures intended for use in an oral or poster presentation are not appropriate for abstract submissions. 

 Graphic sizes:

• Maximum size: 3 inches in width
• Graphics are included in the online publication of SGIM Annual Meeting abstracts in the JGIM Supplement.  Abstracts are printed in two columns with optimal publishing with legible text at 3 inches in width.

Graphic Size/Character Count:

• The size of the graphic will count against the overall character count of your submission.  The larger the graphic, the less text you may include. If a graphic is too large, the ScholarOne system will notify you upon upload to either scale the image down or reattach a smaller original image to conform to the character limit.
• Check the character count in the top right-hand corner of each ScholarOne webpage.
• Please ensure enough time before the submission deadline to upload a graphic and potentially resize the image.

Graphic Size/Character Count Examples:

• 3"w x 2" h graphics will count as 672 characters
• 3"w x 3" h graphics will count as 768 characters
• 3"w x 4" h graphics will count as 990 characters
• 3"w x 5" h graphics will count as 990 characters
• 3"w x 6" h graphics will count as 990 characters

Total character limit is 3,000 characters (excluding author information).

• 300 dpi halftone 
• 600 dpi with text
• 600 dpi combine halftone and text (embedded text)
• 1200 dpi bitmap (pure text and lines (b/w))

• 300/600/1200 dpi objects combine embedded images and vector

Example Graphics

• The recommended graphic size is 3 inches wide by 2 inches high; this graphic size accounts for the least amount of characters at 672 from the overall character count.
• Remember, the inclusion of graphics is optional and should only be included where textual presentation is less efficient. Graphics should be compact and used only to display essential results.
• If accepted for presentation, more detailed graphics can be included during the poster or oral presentation.

1. Download example graphic template (Microsoft Word Document)
2. Create table or graph and save document as a .PDF
3. Save the .PDF as a .TIFF or .EPS
4. Upload into ScholarOne and click Save Changes

Submission Disqualification

• Abstracts will be disqualified from consideration if the submission includes more than one graphic (figure or table).
• Graphics created by combining multiple images into one file for upload or that are larger than 3 inches in width will lead to disqualification for presentation.

Presentation Format

• Oral Presentation Only
• Poster Presentation Only
• No Preference

Preferred Presentation Format - your choice matters:

• SGIM schedules accepted submissions based on the results of the peer review process. The most highly rated submissions are scheduled for an oral presentation followed by those rated highly enough for presentation as posters.
• We recommend stipulating “no preference”, as it will increase the likelihood of your submission being accepted.
• If you stipulate “oral presentation only” and your submission is only ranked highly enough for a poster presentation, you will receive a rejection notification.
• Submissions funded through direct commercial support should select “poster only” as their choice, as poster sessions do not offer CME credit hours.

Oral Presentation Scheduling

• The top-ranked, peer-reviewed submissions will be accepted and scheduled as oral presentations during the Plenary Sessions on Thursday and Friday.
• Highly-rated peer-reviewed submissions will be scheduled as oral presentations during Oral Presentation Sessions (scheduled during non-plenary sessions).
• Each session will feature four total oral presentations with 10 minutes of presentation and 5 minutes of audience Q&A per abstract.

Poster Session Scheduling

High scoring submissions will be accepted and scheduled as Poster presentations during Poster Sessions.

• Poster Session 1: Wednesday, May 6, 2020 (5:30 – 7:00 pm)
• Poster Session 2: Thursday, May 7, 2020 (10:15 – 11:45 am)
• Poster Session 3: Thursday, May 7, 2020 (4:30 – 6:00 pm)
• Poster Session 4: Friday, May 8, 2020 (10:15 – 11:45 am)
• Poster Session 5: Friday, May 8, 2020 (4:30 – 6:00 pm)
• Poster Session 6: Saturday, May 9, 2020 (10:00 – 11:30 am)

Poster Sessions will be organized by submission type, then submission categories.

Primary Submission Categories

• Aging/Geriatrics/End of Life: submissions addressing issues of care of older adults and of issues related to aging and/or end-of-life care decisions regardless of patient age
• Clinical Decision-Making/Economic Analyses: submissions about clinical decision-making; formal decision analyses of medical practice; shared patient-physician decision making; patient preferences; and cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit analyses of specific interventions
• Clinical Epidemiology/Healthcare Effectiveness Research: submissions with a focus on the investigation and control of the distribution and determinants of disease in clinical populations or a focus on the evaluation of effectiveness of therapies or interventions in clinical care settings
• Heath Disparities/Vulnerable Populations/Global Health:  submissions devoted to the health and health care of under-served and special populations, health disparities, health literacy, and global public health issues, such as chronic disease management in developing countries, global epidemics, and emerging pathogens
• Health Policy: submissions that evaluate the impact of local, state/province, or national policies on clinical and economic outcomes
• Hospital-based Medicine: submissions that focus on the care of hospitalized patients, the inpatient care of medical conditions, and the role and effectiveness of hospitalists and hospital-based systems
• Medical Education Scholarship: submissions that focus on issues related to medical education: needs assessment, curricular design, curricular implementation, and outcomes assessment in undergraduate, graduate, and continuing medical education. Submissions that address issues that impact career development, satisfaction, and balance between personal and professional life in medical personnel
• Medical Ethics/Professionalism/Humanities: submissions that focus on areas as diverse as clinical ethics, research ethics, global health ethics, medical professionalism, the history of medicine, literature, philosophy, theology and/or spirituality in medicine
• Mental Health/Substance Use: submissions addressing mental health and substance abuse from educational, research or clinical perspectives. This includes a broad range of substances – alcohol, tobacco, both prescription and non-prescription drugs in addition to street drugs
• Organization of Care/Chronic Disease Management: submissions with a focus on organization of health care delivery; patient-centered medical home; strategies to increase the efficiency or effectiveness of a medical practice system; management of one or more chronic diseases; broader perspectives on disease management; or population health
• Preventive Medicine: submissions that address disease prevention, early detection, and health promotion, including screening, case finding, health habits and beliefs, and interventions to improve these areas
• Quality of Care/Patient Safety: submissions that focus on quality assessment, gaps in quality of care, medical errors, quality improvement, and patient safety in the inpatient or outpatient setting
• Women’s Health: submissions addressing issues and conditions specific to or important to women

Additional Details

• Submitting authors should decide whether the unique and central feature of a submission is related to its methodology, topic, or other content and then select the category that best reflects the work.
• Scientific Abstract categories determine its assignment to review committees.
• The program committee does its best to schedule sessions within the same category in order to avoid conflicts within concurrent sessions, but this is not always possible.

Secondary Submission Categories (Optional)

Where applicable, one of the following secondary categories may be selected:

• Cancer Research
• Ethics
• Geriatrics
• Health Literacy
• Implementation Science/Quality Improvement
• Health Information Technology
• Women’s Health

Do not duplicate your primary category if identifying a secondary category.
For example:

• If your primary category is women’s health, do not select women’s health as your secondary category. 
• If your primary category is preventive medicine and your secondary category is women’s health, it may be scheduled in a women’s health area of a poster session.

Scientific Abstract Awards

• Three awards will be presented to SGIM Associate Members whose Scientific Abstract oral presentations are judged the highest.
• Judging of presentations by finalists for these awards will take place at the Annual Meeting.
• If the eligible author cannot present at the Annual Meeting, he or she may identify a co-author to present in his or her place, BUT that negates eligibility for the award.

Eligibility
Applicants must meet the following criteria:

1. Be a current SGIM Associate Member (Student, Resident, or Fellow)
2. Be the first/primary author of an abstract submitted to the SGIM Annual Meeting

• Three of these awards will be presented to junior faculty SGIM Full Members whose Scientific Abstract oral presentations are judged the highest.
• Judging of oral presentations by finalists for these awards will take place at the Annual Meeting.
• If the eligible author cannot present at the Annual Meeting, she or he may identify a co-author to present in her or his place, BUT that negates eligibility for the award.

Eligibility
Applicants must meet the following criteria:

1. Be a current SGIM Full Member
2. Be in the first two years of a junior faculty appointment at the time of the SGIM Annual Meeting

Learn More

Denoting Scheduling Restrictions/Conflicts for Presenting Authors (Optional)
You will have the option to note any days or sessions you will not be available to present due to religious observances or other scheduling conflicts.

Non-Commercial Funding Source (Optional)

You may self-identify any funding received in support of the work related to the abstract. Choose as many as apply:

• AHRQ Funding
• DOD Funding
• NIH Funding
• PCORI Research Grant
• RWJ Foundation
• VA Funding
• Other

The Program Committee reserves the right to use this information in scheduling.

Listing Authors

Search for author’s existing account in ScholarOne to avoid creating duplicate accounts. Search by first name, last name, or email address. If no account exists, create an account for the co-author. Co-authors will receive an automated email inviting them to update their contact information and fill out a disclosure.

Review the accuracy of the following information for all authors:

• Name
• Institution
• City/State
• Email Address
• SGIM Membership Status
  • We ask this information for Annual Meeting email marketing purposes.
  • Membership is not required for submission.
  • Not sure of an author’s membership status? Select non-member.

Designate Presenting Author

Select the presenting author option in the drop-down menu next to the author in the author listing to designate the presenting author. This author will present the poster or oral presentation if accepted. This author’s name will be underlined in the Journal of General Internal Medicine’s Annual Meeting Online Supplement.

Order Author List
Arrange the order of the author listing by selecting the order number next to each author from the drop-down menus. Typically first authors are designated as the presenting author, unless another co-author is designated to present.

Submission & Presentation Tips

Designing a Poster 

POSTER DESIGN TIPS

Topic and Intended Audience

Know your topic and your intended audience:

• Which attendees are your primary target audience?
• Why is this important to them?
• Will it stimulate excitement?
• Is the topic timely?
• Does it help audience members meet an urgent need? (e.g. accreditation issues)
• How much time does your topic require?
• Choose the most appropriate category for submission. Then identify as many tracks as you think apply.

Peer Review 

Key Dates

October 21, 2019: Peer Review Signup Opens
January 9, 2020: Peer Review Signup Closes
January 28, 2020: Peer Review Opens
February 11, 2020: Peer Review Closes

Peer Review Criteria

Panels of SGIM member volunteers will review blinded submissions. Scientific abstract submissions will be ranked using the following criteria:

1. Importance of the Research Question
   

   • To what extent does the abstract address a topic that is important?

   • To what degree will the results advance concepts in General Internal Medicine?

2. Strength and Appropriateness of Methods

   • Is the study design clearly described?

   • Are sampling procedures adequately described, including inclusion and exclusion criteria; is there potential selection bias?

   • Are the measures reliable and valid?

   • Are possible confounding factors addressed?

   • Are the statistical analyses appropriate for the study design, and are they the best that could have been used?

   • Is there discussion of the statistical power?

3. Validity of Conclusions and Implications

   • Are conclusions clearly stated and justified by the data?

   • Are implications strong enough to influence how clinicians/teachers/researchers “act” in clinical practice, teaching, or future research?

4. Quality of Writing

• Is the writing clear and organized to effectively communicate findings?

Peer Review Rubric

Peer Review Instructions