2021 Call for Abstracts

Abstract Submission Site

Submissions must be received via the online submission site by July 9^th at 11:59 PM CDT. No exceptions will be allowed. Only online submissions made through the submission site will be considered.

Click Here to Access the Submission Site

National Conference Abstract Policies & Guidelines

General Guidelines

• The AAP National Conference Abstract program is comprised of 35 Section/Council programs accepting submissions. Each participating Section and Council has program specific guidelines listed below, which must be reviewed in detail before submission. Submission of an abstract indicates acceptance of all guidelines, policies, and procedures.
• Submissions must be received via the online submission site by July 9^th at 11:59 PM CDT. No exceptions will be allowed. Only online submissions made through the submission site will be considered.
• Abstracts will be displayed in the Virtual Abstract Hall and published exactly as submitted. No copyediting will be provided by the AAP. Submitters are responsible for thoroughly reviewing their submission and ensuring accuracy before submission.
• By submitting an abstract to the AAP National Conference & Exhibition, submitters are agreeing to participate as accepted. The decision regarding acceptance and presentation format is final.
• All presenting authors (orals and posters) must register by September 8th. Presenters are responsible for their own conference registration fees.
• All accepted submissions will be made available to conference attendees and the public following the embargo lift which occurs the Friday that the conference begins.
• Health professionals in any field are welcome to submit abstracts. Some programs may have membership or sponsorship requirements for submission. Please refer to program specific guidelines.
• Accepted submissions will be published on the AAP National Conference event website and in an online edition of Pediatrics.
• All submissions must provide information about any prior presentation and publication. Please refer to program specific guidelines for any restrictions. For purposes of describing your prior presentation the following definitions will be used:
  • Original: The first presentation of this work or data.
  • Encore: Original’s data are reproduced except for formatting, word count, or other “trivial” changes for presentation at multiple conferences.
  • Adaptation: The content overlaps with the Original, but contains new/additional data, analyses, and/or interpretations.
• Submissions will be peer-reviewed by representatives of the program under which the abstract is submitted.
• If the submission cannot be presented, the abstract must be withdrawn. Failure to present or withdraw may preclude any author on the submission from submitting to the AAP National Conference for two years. To withdraw your abstract, email your request to abstracts@aap.org no later than September 8, 2021 at 11:59 PM CDT.

Submission Content

• Submissions are allowed in one program only.
• The presenting author/submitter will serve as the primary contact for all correspondence regarding the abstract.
• Abstract text is limited to 450 words.
• Up to two images and/or tables are permitted (file formats: JPG, PNG, BMP). Image captions do not count towards word limit.
• Only individuals can author a submission. Study groups are not allowed to author a submission and will be removed.
• It is highly encouraged that authors meet the definition of authorship as defined by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors.
• Geographical location and name of institution and/or study site is permitted only when it is a significant variable to the study.
• Study registration numbers should be included on abstracts, posters, and slides, where applicable.
• Use only standard abbreviations. Special or unusual abbreviations should be placed in parentheses after the first appearance of the full word.

Author Conflict of Interest Disclosure & Research Funding

• All cited authors must complete a Conflict of Interest disclosure before the submission deadline.
• The presenting author/submitter is responsible for ensuring all authors are aware of and comply with the disclosure requirement. The submission will not be final until all disclosures are complete.
• Failure to disclose will result in disqualification of the submission.
• An author’s disclosure should be relevant and specific to the content of the submission. If the potential conflict of interest does not relate to the submission, the author does not need to disclose those relationships.
• All sources of funding for the research must be disclosed within the submission and should be acknowledged on posters and slides.
• The complete AAP National Conference Abstract Disclosure process is available here.

Submission Types

• Case Report: Presenting scientific documentation of a single clinical observation to enhance knowledge on clinical manifestations, diagnostic approaches, or therapeutic alternatives of a rare or unusual clinical condition/disease. Required Headers: Introduction, Case Description, Discussion, Conclusion
• Original Research: Presenting systematic investigation designed to produce new knowledge and approaches using process or outcome variables. If your abstract describes animal experimentation or involves the use of human subjects, IACUC or IRB approval numbers must be included in the submission. Required Headers: Background, Methods, Results, Conclusion.
• Program Evaluation: Presenting ongoing or completed projects, including education programs, showcasing novel and innovative methods for examining and/or improving the effectiveness and efficiency of a program or policy. Required Headers: Background, Methods, Results, Conclusion
• Quality Improvement Project: Presenting approaches to assess and improve professional practice performance using quality improvement methodology. Please see MOC Eligibility for detailed criteria. Required Headers: Purpose/Objectives, Design/Methods, Results, and Conclusion/Discussion

Accepted Abstracts Presentation Guidelines & Copyright

Virtual Poster Presentations

• All accepted submissions must create and submit a virtual poster. For 2021 only: submissions accepted as a virtual poster presentation will not be hosted onsite in Philadelphia.
• Poster is limited to one (1) single page PDF in landscape (horizontal) orientation.
• The aspect ratio of the page should be set to 16:9.
• Fonts should be sans-serif (e.g., Arial, Calibri, etc.).
• Minimum font size should not be smaller than 6pt.
• All author financial relationships and research funding sources must be present/visible on the poster. If there is nothing to disclose, the poster must include the following: “Authors have no financial relationships to disclose.”
• All virtual posters will have the option to record up to three (3) minutes of audio.
• New this year, poster presenting authors will be asked to participate in a virtual Q/A session within the conference dates. More information will be shared with acceptance notifications.

Oral Presentations

• For 2021 only: Please refer to program specific guidelines on virtual versus in-person presentation.
• The presenting author is the only author allowed to present. Changes to presenting authors will be considered until the withdrawal deadline (September 8).
• A slide template will be available for development of slides. PowerPoint slides should be formatted with a 16:9 aspect ratio.
• Each presentation must have a title slide and a second slide disclosing all author financial relationships and research funding sources.
• A maximum of one slide per minute will be allowed, including title and disclosure slides.
• Do not use animations/builds or transitions in your slides.
• Presentation minutes and Q/A information will be provided based upon each program. Please refer to program specific guidelines.

Copyright Information in Posters and Slides

• Any images, tables, figures, etc. must be the intellectual property of the presenting author or authors, unless expressed permission can be provided. For more information, see the National Conference & Exhibition AAP Copyright Guidance.
• The presenting/first author is responsible for ensuring compliance with copyright.

Resources and Applicable AAP Policies

• AAP Conflict of Interest Disclosure Policy for Abstracts
• AAP Committee on CME (COCME) Guidelines for Addressing Intellectual Property in AAP CME Activities
• AAP Policy on Allegations of Plagiarism
• Creating and Presenting Effective Learning Material 
• Development of Presentation Material and Validation of Clinical Content
• Words Matter: AAP Guidance on Inclusive, Anti-biased Language

MOC Part 4 Credit for Quality Improvement Projects

If you are planning to submit an abstract describing a quality improvement project you have participated in, you may be eligible for 25 American Board of Pediatrics (ABP) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Part 4 points.

The American Academy of Pediatrics, through its MOC Portfolio, will approve eligible peer-reviewed poster or oral presentations describing a quality improvement project presented at a Section/Council program at the AAP National Conference for MOC Part 4 credit (25 points).  Any author or co-author of a poster or oral presented at a Section/Council program is eligible for this credit, if they meet the requirements described below. Note: to be eligible for MOC credit, pediatricians must be individually named as an author at the time of abstract submission. Naming a network as an author and listing those members in another area of the abstract, poster, or oral presentation does not qualify.

There will be no fee for obtaining this credit, if the author/co-author qualifies through the AAP MOC Portfolio (if they choose to apply directly to the American Board of Pediatrics, there is a $75 application fee). This program will only apply to pediatrics and pediatric subspecialties boarded by the American Board of Pediatrics.

For more information visit https://www.aap.org/mocabstracts. Questions? Contact MOCPortfolio@aap.org​.

2021 Participating Section/Council Programs

Below are the participating section/council programs and corresponding topics & guidelines:

• Council on Child Abuse and Neglect | Guidelines
  • Any aspect of child abuse and neglect, substance use, child abuse prevention, trauma informed care, dealing with court cases, dealing with media, identification of child abuse and neglect, and equity.
• Council on Children and Disasters | Guidelines
  • Any aspect of pediatric disaster preparedness, response and recovery, readiness for disasters or public health emergencies, model pediatric preparedness projects, and disaster-focused research.
• Council on Clinical Information Technology | Guidelines
  • Any aspect of health information technology, electronic health record (EHR)/electronic medical record (EMR), clinical decision support and documentation, burden reduction, electronic health record (EHR) alerts, optimization, big data, data analytics, digitization of health care, informatics, augmented/artificial intelligence, machine learning, digital handoffs, apps, patient portals, and patient-generated health data.
• Council on Community Pediatrics | Guidelines
  • Any aspect of social determinants of health, adverse childhood experiences, poverty, food insecurity, housing and homelessness, nature, rural health, trauma-informed care, relational health, health equity, and community pediatrics.
• Council on Early Childhood | Guidelines
  • Any aspect of early childhood, prenatal care, birth, infants, toddlers, preschoolers, early literacy, mental health, early relational health, and early brain development
• Council on Foster Care, Adoption, and Kinship Care | Guidelines
  • Any aspect of mental health, data sharing, trauma informed care, health care needs of youth in foster care, kinship care and those who have been adopted, equity, social determinants of health, and transitions of care.
• Council on Immigrant Child and Family Health | Guidelines
  • Any aspect of children in immigrant and refugee families, children and families seeking asylum, unaccompanied immigrant children, language justice, trauma informed practice, care delivery models, COVID-19 impacts on immigrant children, advocacy, tropical medicine, health equity, community education and partnership, social drivers of health, and immigration policy.
• Council on Injury, Violence, and Poison Prevention | Guidelines
  • Any aspect of injury prevention, violence prevention, unintentional injury prevention and intentional injury prevention.
• Council on Quality Improvement and Patient Safety | Guidelines
  • Any aspect of quality improvement.
• Council on School Health | Guidelines
  • Any aspect of health issues within the school setting: racial equity, COVID-19, addressing social determinants of health, integrating health into educational curriculum, serving families and communities through school-based health centers.
• Council on Sports Medicine and Fitness | Guidelines
  • Any aspect of sports medicine, fitness, physical activity, exercise as medicine, athlete development, mental health, free play, sports, athlete/athletics, obesity, access, diversity, injury prevention, orthopedics, safeguarding, and exertional-related illness/death.
• Innovations in Obesity Prevention, Assessment, and Treatment Forum | Guidelines
  • Any aspect of obesity prevention, obesity assessment, obesity evaluation, obesity management and treatment, quality improvement, and clinical care improvements.
• Provisional Section on Urgent Care Medicine | Guidelines
  • Any aspect of antibiotic stewardship, minor injury care, bronchiolitis, asthma, COVID-19, patient experience, workflow, education, pediatric acute care, and fast track.
• Section on Advances in Therapeutics and Technology | Guidelines
  • Any aspect of clinical trials/regulatory FDA approved studies of vaccines/drugs/devices, public policy and law related to drug and device development, utility of device/technology and use in pediatric office settings, and use of electronic devices for information sharing with patients and families.
• Section on Breastfeeding | Guidelines
  • Any aspect of breastfeeding, breastmilk, donor milk, human milk, lactating women, chest-feeding, lactation in workplace, milk supply, infant nutrition, pumping, breastfeeding and health equity, human milk in preterm, breastfeeding advocacy and education projects, and breastfeeding in children with special health care needs.
• Section on Cardiology & Cardiac Surgery | Guidelines
  • Any aspect of congenital heart disease, cardiothoracic surgery, cardiac critical care, electrophysiology, acquired heart disease, cardiac catheterization, cardiac imaging, pulmonary hypertension, heart failure and transplantation, preventive cardiology, genetic syndromes, pharmacology.
• Section on Child Death Review and Prevention | Guidelines
  • Any aspect of child death review, child fatality review, injury prevention, child death review data, and child death review programs.
• Section on Critical Care | Guidelines
  • Any aspect of pediatric critical care topics, value-based projects, sepsis, cardiac, acute respiratory distress syndrome, COVID-19, patient safety, education, and quality outcomes.
• Section on Emergency Medicine | Guidelines
  • Any aspect of pediatric emergency medicine
• Section on Global Health | Guidelines
  • Any aspect of global health, international child health, low- and middle-income countries, limited resource settings, helping babies breathe, immigrant and refugee child health, global health education and simulation, and educational initiatives.
• Section on Hospice and Palliative Medicine | Guidelines
  • Any aspect of experiences, care of, and advocacy for fetuses, infants, children, adolescents and young adults with serious illness and their families.
• Section on Hospital Medicine | Guidelines
  • Any aspect of hospital-based medicine, newborn nursery, and inpatient education.
• Section on Integrative Medicine | Guidelines
  • Any aspect of integrative medicine, physician wellness, mind/body wellness, nutrition/supplements, sleep, non-pharmacologic approaches, and spirituality.
• Section on LGBT Health and Wellness | Guidelines
  • Any aspect of gender expression and gender identity, children of parents who are LGBT identified, LGBT youth in foster care, health disparities and resilience of LGBT youth, school safety/inclusion, making pediatric practices more welcoming to LGBT patients and families, pediatric providers providing PrEP, screening for safer sex practices in all patients, STI screening rates in LGBT youth, professional needs of LGBT pediatricians and trainees.
• Section on Medicine-Pediatrics | Guidelines
  • Any aspect of the “Med-Peds” perspective. Cases should be a clinical vignette that hat is applicable to both pediatrics and internal medicine and presenters are expected to be either Med-Peds residents or faculty.
• Section on Minority Health, Equity & Inclusion | Guidelines
  • Any aspect of health equity and disparities, social justice, racism, anti-racism, minority health, immigration, disaster preparedness, racial trauma, and trauma-informed care.
• Section on Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine | Guidelines
  • Any aspect of newborn medicine, neonatal, medicine, and perinatal medicine.
• Section on Nicotine and Tobacco Prevention and Treatment | Guidelines
  • Any aspect of tobacco control, tobacco smoke exposure, electronic cigarettes, vaping, nicotine addiction and cessation, tobacco use and prevention, and smoking.
• Section on Obesity | Guidelines
  • Any aspect of climate change and obesity.
• Section on Oral Health | Guidelines
  • Any aspect of pediatric oral health, medical-dental collaboration, inter-professional partnerships, medical-dental integration, HPV, oral care, dental screenings, fluoride varnish application, silver diamine fluoride, dental home, and children with special health care needs.
• Section on Orthopaedics | Guidelines
  • Any aspect of pediatric orthopedics: trauma, deformity, limb length or angular discrepancy, sports medicine, scoliosis and spine conditions, musculoskeletal injury or pain, foot and ankle, hand and upper extremity.
• Section on Pediatric Trainees | Guidelines
  • Any interesting cases.
• Section on Surgery | Guidelines
  • Any aspect of pediatric surgery.
• Section on Transport Medicine | Guidelines
  • Any aspect of pediatric/neonatal interhospital transport, aero-medical transport, critical care transport, and transport team education/simulation.
• Section on Uniformed Services | Guidelines
  • Any aspect of basic science research or research on the development, evaluation, or application of an emerging technology in pediatrics, clinical findings of or assessment of clinical diagnostic studies, therapeutic regimens, and outcomes leading to improved quality of health care for children, or any other pediatric-related topic. Submissions will need to fall within one of the award topics listed below.

Abstracts Archive

Abstracts from previous National Conference & Exhibition programs are available for viewing:

• 2020
• 2019
• 2018
• 2017
• 2016​
• 2015
• 2014
• 2013
• 2012
• 2011
• 2010

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