“Applying Prevention Science to Reduce Health Disparities”
14th Annual Meeting
Hyatt Regency Hotel, San Antonio, TX
May 31 - June 2, 2006
Pre-conference Workshops May 30, 2006

CALL FOR PAPERS

2006 Call for Papers: Printable Version

Author Instructions: Printable Version

The Society for Prevention Research is an international organization focused upon the advancement of science-based prevention programs and policies through empirical research. The membership of the organization includes scientists, practitioners, advocates, administrators, and policy makers who are concerned with the prevention of social, physical and mental health problems and the promotion of health, safety, and well-being.

The meeting seeks to present the latest in prevention science from across international regions in the areas of epidemiology, etiology, preventive intervention trials, demonstration projects, policy research, natural experiments, program evaluations, clinical trials, prevention-related basic research, pre-intervention studies, efficacy and effectiveness trials, population trials, and studies of the diffusion/dissemination of science-based prevention.

Health Disparities
This year’s conference seeks to focus the field on the problem of health disparities, such as the differences among racial, ethnic, and socio-economic groups in health and well-being, the factors that influence these disparities, and the ways in which these disparities can be reduced. What are the most promising ways in which prevention science can be applied towards advancing the Healthy People 2010 (www.healthypeople.gov) objectives for improving the health of the nation? Submissions are welcomed that articulate how prevention science can address several key factors: biological, behavioral, social environment, physical environment, policies, to reduce health disparities and to promote health and well-being.

International Collaboration
Efforts to prevent morbidity, mortality and disability constitute a universal human endeavour. Worldwide, various cultures and societies have engaged in problem solving in effort to maintain and to enhance the health and well being of their members. As various cultural groups worldwide respond to local challenges, variation exists in their strategies for promoting health and preventing disease. In addition, the globalization of information and subsequent exchange of resources, and the proliferation of disease and problem behaviors prompt the need for developing partnerships and collaborations to identify the most effective ways to address a wide variety of health issues and to reduce health disparities via the application of the best prevention interventions available.

Integrating Biological and Social Factors
From a biopsychosocial perspective, as many of the major health problems are complex and exert their effects across several ecological levels, it is imperative that prevention and treatment be conceptualized and implemented across these various levels from the micro to the macro. Thus, preventive interventions will be enhanced by the integration of knowledge from these various levels of analysis.

Promoting Well-Being
One approach for addressing health disparities is to prevent disease and problem behavior in high risk populations by promoting well-being among those not yet affected by disease or disability. Finding ways to motivate high risk populations to invest in their own health constitutes a major challenge. Research on ways to promote well-being actively addresses these challenges and puts to the test the best scientific approaches when applied to complex and multi-problem populations. Currently, the need exists to integrate the perspectives that emphasize the promotion of well-being with those that focus on the prevention of problems.

Early Adolescence
Each year, SPR focuses on a different stage of development. The 2006 conference invites special attention to the period of early adolescence. It is a critical developmental period because of the biological, social, and cognitive changes that occur. Extending roughly from age 11 through age 14, it is the period when most psychological and behavioral problems begin to escalate. Better understanding of the developmental processes involved in this period and the ways that problem development could be prevented and successful development enhanced would be of substantial value.

Emerging Opportunities for Prevention Research

Diabetes and Obesity Prevention and Management
Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes now constitute emerging epidemics within American society. The best of prevention science is needed to address this emerging epidemic and to reduce current and future diseases and disabilities that are expected to emerge within the American population as a result of these disorders. Gene-environment interactive mechanisms involving sociocultural changes including: modernization, acculturation, assimilation, diminished or accelerated socioeconomic mobility, and their interaction with genetic susceptibilities offer complex but promising models for understanding these epidemics particularly when manifested among racial/ethnic and other high-risk populations. Addressing current and future health disparities induced by obesity and diabetes calls for the implementation of the best of prevention science to eliminate or reduce these health problems as effectively as possible.

Innovation in the Development of Preventive Interventions
Inspection of the effect sizes of existing preventive interventions indicates that there is much room for improving their efficacy. The development of a new generation of more efficacious preventive interventions will require innovation. Therefore, SPR seeks to foster discussion of the ways in which preventive interventions are developed and the implications of developments in other areas of the behavioral sciences and technology that might serve as sources of innovation.

Monitoring Systems for Youth and Children
Progress in improving the health and well-being of children in various communities requires the development and implementation of well functioning local and regional systems of surveillance and evaluation. Conference submissions that describe such systems, their use, or the processes involved in getting them established would contribute to prevention scientists’ ability to foster the widespread development of such systems.

Violence Prevention
Violent actions occurring within couples and families, and within societies serve as sources of death, disability and psychological impairment that impose on society immeasurable costs in terms of losses and suffering. A major challenge in prevention science involves developing a more accurate prediction of future violent behavior, as well as the development of more effective violence prevention interventions.

Addictive Behaviors
Addictive behaviors include high frequency and quantity in the consumption of various substances: illicit drugs (cocaine, heroin, marijuana), and other pharmacologically active substances (caffeine, alcohol, tobacco, prescription drugs), as well as high consumerism (gambling, overeating, compulsive buying, etc.). Moreover, emerging and more advanced models of addictive behavior involve the integration of biological, psychological, social, and other factors. As addictive behaviors are resistant to treatment and typically involve multiple episodes of relapse, they pose a special challenge to the application of the best prevention science to prevent their occurrence, and to provide more effective treatments.

Exploring Intervention Fidelity and Adaptation
A contemporary challenge in prevention science involves addressing concurrently the competing imperatives of administering a tested and effective prevention program with fidelity, while also having sensitivity to the unique and complex issues faced within the applied setting, issues that require adjustments for sensitivity and responsiveness to the unique needs of particular clients and settings. Finding ways to address both issues simultaneously while also enhancing and not diminishing program effectiveness requires better approaches to prevention program design and implementation.

Basic Prevention Research Themes

Epidemiology
Knowing the prevalence of specific problems or disorders, the distribution of risk factors in the population, shifts in risk factors and the distribution of problems over time to designing effective prevention programs. An emphasis on basic behavioral science and epidemiology will remain the basis of strong intervention and prevention programs. Epidemiological studies typically reflect phase 1 and 2 trials in a biomedical model of intervention development.

Etiology
Prevention science includes research that has a high probability of yielding results that will likely be applicable to disease prevention. Basic research efforts generate knowledge that contributes to the development of future preventive efforts. Etiological studies typically reflect Phase 1 trials in a biomedical model.

Efficacy Trials
Efficacy trials demonstrate the “proof of concept” with a specified population under conditions of high quality assurance and strong research designs (typically randomized controlled designs). Efficacy trials answer the basic question of whether there are benefits from a proposed innovation. In a biomedical model of intervention development, these are Phase 3 trials.

Effectiveness Trials
The true test of a prevention program is not the efficacy in the research setting but the effectiveness in the real-life setting with the community in charge of the program. Effectiveness trials involve replicating an efficacious intervention under real world conditions in community settings. There is less quality assurance on an ongoing basis and the outcomes demonstrate the likely impact of an intervention when delivered without the original research team. In a biomedical model, these are Phase 4 trials.

Dissemination
Careful trials to assess which programs would be particularly well suited for dissemination, which individuals would be most likely to benefit, and which disorders are prevented are important steps in program development. Almost no interventions have been taken to scale nationally or internationally; dissemination research identifies strategies for taking interventions to scale and identifies potential barriers to dissemination.

Cross-Cutting Thematic Papers

Multivariate Model Testing
The development of prevention science is being greatly facilitated by the use of sophisticated multivariate models of person-environment interactions, including the impact of interventions, and the effects of variables at multiple levels, such as the individual, family, and school. Presentations that extend prevention scientists’ understanding of the use of multivariate models can contribute to developments across the entire range of substantive issues addressed by prevention scientists.

Innovation in Methods
Prevention science owes much of its progress to the development of new measures, designs, and statistical analyses. Continued contributions to the development of innovations in prevention science methods are vital to our progress. For example, mixed-methods approaches that integrate qualitative and quantitative methodologies within a unified research design may offer more informative research results, although this approach still lacks robustness and scientific rigor. “Cutting edge” studies and methodological analyses are welcomed that address measurement, statistical, methodological and practical challenges to prevention science, as well as the benefits offered by various innovative methods.

Cultural Competence
Growing diversity within the American population increases the need for competence in developing and evaluating preventive interventions that will be appropriate and effective with diverse groups and special populations, including African Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, Asian Americans, and American Indians/Native Americans. Moreover, with world globalization, the need exists for a more in-depth understanding of diverse cultures, their values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors, as these relate to prevention and treatment, and to the reduction of health disparities. Although the cultural competence movement emerged from the health services arena, a stronger scientific foundation is needed for the design of culturally competent and scientifically rigorous research and interventions. Presentations that contribute to the cultural competence of prevention scientists or to the empirical understanding of cultural competence would therefore be valuable.

Fetal and Childhood Origins of Adult Chronic Illness
A major approach to the reduction in health disparities involves the application of an effective preventive intervention at the earliest possible stage within the lifecycle. By obtaining new knowledge on the earliest childhood origins of chronic disease, the aim is to intervene at a point in the developmental course of disease that will confer the strongest preventive effects. Thus, presentations on factors that perturb fetal development and interventions that can prevent such perturbations are called for.

Author Instructions

Please note that abstract text cannot exceed approximately 400 words, or 2800 characters including spaces.

Abstracts to SPR should focus on the theme of the SPR Annual Meeting and the mission of SPR and may consist of reports of empirical findings, discussions of theoretical, conceptual or methodological issues, and presentations of innovative work in the field of prevention science. Research conducted at all phases of the prevention research cycle are welcomed, including studies of epidemiology, etiology, preventive intervention trials, demonstration projects, policy research, natural experiments, program evaluations, clinical trials, prevention-related basic research, pre-intervention studies, efficacy and effectiveness trials, population trials, and studies of the diffusion/dissemination of science-based prevention.

Researchers, practitioners, and advocates within all content areas of public health, education, human services, criminal justice, and medical science that focus on preventive behavioral interventions, prophylactics, or health policy strategies are welcome to submit on relevant topics, including, but not limited to health promotion, maternal health, infant and child health, mental health/mental disorders, family conflict, substance abuse and addiction (alcohol, tobacco, illicit drugs), violence, delinquency, crime, academic failure, dropping-out of school, cardiovascular disease, cancer, HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted disease, unintended pregnancy, unemployment, occupation safety, auto accidents, unintended injury, poverty, welfare, and managed care.

Further, SPR strongly encourages submissions by early career prevention scientists, including graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and researchers who have recently begun to work independently.

One of SPR’s missions is to facilitate the development of more junior prevention scientists. We encourage senior researchers to collaborate with early career researchers and submit linked abstracts for presentations on specific themes or individual projects. These need not be limited to organized paper or poster forum presentations.

Given the limited time and rooms for oral presentations, we are especially interested in organized paper symposia and poster forums that include authors from a variety of research groups and from more than one project. The Program Committee also encourages organized paper symposia and poster forums consisting of several authors from single research studies, such as multi-site and/or longitudinal studies.

We are continuing to accept submissions for organized poster symposia which was a new format introduced at the 2004 annual meeting. The organized poster forum combines the individual interactions of a poster presentation and the extended group discussion opportunities of an organized symposium.

We encourage authors to consider submitting an individual poster presentation. We seek broad participation in the conference, and many individual poster presentations can be accommodated. We will again combine the two evening poster sessions with receptions to enhance camaraderie.

Please note that all submissions must be in English as all presentations will be in English.

ABSTRACT TYPES

Individual Paper Presentation
Abstracts of individual research papers may be submitted for a 15-minute oral presentation. A maximum of three individual papers will be grouped together based on a theme within a 90-minute concurrent session. A volunteer chair will facilitate an extended period of open discussion following the three oral paper presentations.

Individual Poster Presentation
Poster displays allow presenters to discuss their research with interested colleagues during a two-hour block of time. The poster sessions will be held in the early evening along with a reception, and will not compete with any other sessions.

Organized Paper Symposium
An organized paper symposium provides for multiple oral research presentations to be made on a single theme involving a brief introduction by the chair, 3 (maximum) presenters, with one discussant (encouraged, though optional) and open discussion from the floor. Presenters have 15 minutes to present the core content and the discussant has 15 minutes to comment upon the presentations with 30 minutes reserved for interactive discussion, facilitated by the chair, between the presenters and the session audience. An abstract should be submitted that describes the overall symposium, and separate abstracts should be submitted for each proposed presentation (that is, 4 abstracts should be submitted for a symposium with 3 presenters).

Organized Poster Forum
An organized poster forum provides for multiple, 4-8 (maximum), poster research presentations to be made on a single theme. Posters will be displayed for a 45-minute period allowing time for presenters to individually discuss their research with the session audience as they move through the posters. 15 minutes is allocated for comments from a discussant (encouraged, though optional) and 30 to 45 minutes (if no discussant) of general discussion, moderated by the chair, between the presenters and the session audience.

Roundtable Discussion/Scientific Dialogue
A roundtable discussion/scientific dialogue (RD/SD) does not present research findings, but rather addresses an area or issue of fundamental importance to the field, in a format that encourages a lively exchange of different points of views. Examples include training and funding opportunities in prevention, priorities in prevention, and advocacy for the use of scientific approaches to prevention. The RD/SD chair and the panel of 3-6 discussants often include members/people outside the research community. The 90-minute RD/SD should include a brief introduction clearly outlining the issues presented by the chair followed by each of the discussants elaborating on their different viewpoints and perspectives on the issue. Then the chair facilitates extended open discussion with the session audience and the discussants. The RD/SD abstract submission should include only one abstract (unlike an organized symposium), which should include the names of the chair and the discussants, an outline of the issue and varying viewpoints and indicate which discussant will be elaborating on each viewpoint.

Technology Demonstration
Abstracts are encouraged that describe prevention-related technology and science-based prevention program materials. A technology demonstration session will be presented during the conference for "hands-on" presentations of technology, such as statistical analysis programs, data collection instruments and techniques, literature search techniques, or science-based prevention curricula. The technology demonstration session will be held in the early evening along with a reception concurrently with the poster sessions.

AUTHOR ROLES

All persons associated with an abstract submission shall be included in the abstract author information. Please select author roles carefully. To maximize participation in oral presentations a limit on a Presenting Author’s abstract submissions has been instituted. Oral presentations are limited to TWO per person, therefore when inviting your presenters for an organized symposium, confirm that they have not already committed to more than one other organized symposium presentation, an individual oral presentation, or a poster forum presentation. Chairing a symposium or being a discussant does not count as an oral presentation.

Entered By – This individual is responsible for accurate entering of all abstract information and may or may not be an author or presenter. There is a minimum and maximum of one “Entered By.”

Primary Author – This individual is the primary author of the abstract and/or research paper. The primary author may or may not be a presenting author and may or may not attend the meeting. There is a minimum and maximum of one “Primary Author.”

Presenting Author – This individual is the presenter for oral (both individual papers or within an organized symposium) and poster presentations and technology demonstrations. This individual must attend the meeting. There is a minimum and maximum of one “Presenting Author.” A presenting author is limited to TWO oral presentations in the meeting.

Co-Author – This individual(s) is a co-author on the abstract and/or research paper. Co-authors may or may not attend the meeting. There is no minimum or maximum requirement for “Co-Authors.”

Chair – This individual organizes the symposium, roundtable/scientific discussion or poster forum. The chair is responsible for coordinating the presenters’ abstracts, selecting the theme for the submission and that the presenters and discussant attend the meeting. The Chair acts as moderator to ensure presenters keep to the 15-minute time limit and to facilitate the open discussion segment of the session. The Chair must attend the meeting. There is a minimum and maximum of one Chair for an organized symposium, roundtable/scientific dialogue and poster forum.

Discussant – This is an optional role in organized symposia and a role in roundtable discussions/scientific dialogues. Discussants are not expected to give presentations. In an organized symposium a discussant’s role/goal is to identify common themes among the presentations, clarify the “big-picture,” and integrate the research presentations. In a roundtable/scientific discussion a discussant’s role is to elaborate on varying perspectives within the specified area or issue. Discussants are not limited to the number of organized symposia or roundtable/scientific dialogues in which they participate.

Note to all Presenting Authors, Chairs and Discussants – If your abstract(s) and session(s) are accepted you are required to register for the meeting.

BASIC COS ABSTRACT SUBMISSION RULES

The direct URL for the Society for Prevention (SPR) COS abstract submission site is http://ams.cos.com/cgi-bin/login?institutionId=32607&meetingId=216 or you can click here to go to the COS Log in Page. Note: you must activate cookies to use the COS site. When you are on the COS site each abstract submission step has its own set of instructions displayed.

It is important to note that throughout the abstract submission process you MUST press the "Acknowledge and Continue" button at the bottom of the page.

STEP BY STEP ABSTRACT SUBMISSION GUIDE

The direct URL is http://ams.cos.com/cgi-bin/login?institutionId=32607&meetingId=216 OR click here to link to the COS Log In Page

Enter your COS username and password.

New to the COS System? Click on the link “Create a New Account”

o Another screen will appear, asking you for some information.
o COS will then email you your username and password.

After you log in, you will be taken to the Electronic Submission page.

Click Create/Edit an Abstract to begin the submission process or to edit an abstract that you’ve already started.

The next page, Status of Current Documents page, lists all the abstracts associated with your name. This page will be blank (you will not see any abstracts associated with your name) when you log in for the first time unless someone else has entered an abstract with you as one of the authors.

You can “Create a New Abstract” or “Edit” an existing abstract.

The status (draft, submitted, accepted, rejected) of all your abstracts (if you have already started some) is listed in the table as well.

Step 1: Identify the type of abstract you are submitting. You must select one type of submission, and you cannot change the submission from one type to another once you have made that choice. i.e., you cannot change a submission from a poster to a paper once you have begun.

From here you are taken to the actual submission process. The submission steps are listed on the left-hand side of the screen, and they will automatically be checked off as you complete each step of the submission process. You can go to any step by clicking on it.

Step 2: Author Identification:

Identify authors for each submission.

The screen will allow you to see up to three authors at one time, although you may have to scroll down the screen to see all the information on each author.

You should identify which person listed may edit the submission, and you should identify each person as one of the following:

• Entered By (the person doing the actual submission)
• Primary Author
• Presenting Author
• Co-author
• Chair (organized paper and poster forums and roundtable discussion/scientific dialogue)
• Discussant (organized paper and poster forums and roundtable discussion/scientific dialogue. Each added person must be identified as one of these author types.

To identify additional authors, you may select to:

• Find New Author to Add from the SPR/COS Database (information will be entered for you). USE THIS SELECTION TO AVOID ENTERING DUPLICATE RECORDS WITH A MINOR NAME VARIANT FOR AN AUTHOR ALREADY IN THE DATABASE.
• Add New Author Without Searching (you need to enter author information)
• Add New Author Without Searching using Address Information from an already identified Author – this option will allow you to automatically fill the affiliation information using one of the already entered author information.
• Note that additional authors will appear in new columns that appear towards the bottom of the page. After you have clicked to add a new author, scroll down if you cannot see the new author information.
  
  When you are finished adding authors, click on “Save and Close.”

Step 3: Title and Abstract Text: We strongly urge you to compose your abstract submission electronically before you begin this process, so you may cut and paste text into the appropriate fields. However, please be aware of the following:

• TEXT CANNOT EXCEED APPROXIMATELY 400 WORDS, OR 2800 CHARACTERS INCLUDING SPACES.
• Special characters, including mathematical operators such as FIND THESE=, = and ˜, will not be transmitted over the Internet. After you have placed text in the appropriate fields, use the “Special Character” key above the title field to insert special characters. These will be inserted wherever your cursor was on the screen before you selected your special character. You may cut and paste these to anywhere in the text. Be sure to move the following semi-colon as well.
• You can view your abstract in the format it will appear in the SPR annual meeting printed program by clicking on the "View Program Format" button, right next to the Title field.

Step 4 Abstract Theme: You must select an abstract theme. Only one theme per abstract submission.

Step 5 Key Words: Select as many keywords as apply.

Step 6 AudioVisual Equipment Requests
.
Step 7 Conflict of Interest Disclosure Statement (required). Please complete as appropriate for each author.

Step 8 Proofread: You must proofread your submission

Step 9 (optional): Co-author Editing: You may choose to have co-author(s) edit the abstract, to the extent you identified who have the right to do so. Provide co-authors with the tracking ID number to facilitate access.

Step 10 Submit: After proofreading, and editing if necessary, please hit the submit button. Your submission will remain in “draft” status until you, as the entering author, click the “Submit” button. The deadline for submitting is Monday, October 17, 2005, at 11:59 PM ET.

How to Enter and Save Data

Open "Submit an Abstract" section on the left by pressing the section title which will change it to bold red text.

• Enter data and press the "Save" or "Save and Continue" button at the bottom which will save the data for that section
• Open the next section
• The abstract will be marked "Draft" if you exit before completing the process

  Press the "Submit" button in the last section if a check mark exists in every section which will change the status of the abstract from "Draft" to "Submitted for Review"
  
  • All abstracts on which you are an author will be listed and marked either "Draft" or "Submitted for Review" if you login at a later time
  • All abstracts in "Draft" may be edited at any time through 11:59 PM (ET), October 14, 2005.
  • After October 14, 2005, you may review your abstracts but not edit them
  • After October 14, 2005, abstracts marked "Draft" will not be considered for inclusion in the program

Questions

Return to Top