NPSF Announces the 2009 Call for Research and Solutions Posters

Not Too Late To Submit Posters!

The deadline for submitting Research and Solutions posters for the Poster Exhibit at Congress has been extended until Monday, February 9, 5:00 pm ET.

The National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF) recently issued a call for posters to be presented at the Annual Patient Safety Congress, May 20 - 22, 2009 in Washington, DC. Abstracts are solicited for both Research and Solutions poster presentations. Initiatives that cross or link stakeholder groups are encouraged. Research and Solutions posters are an integral component of the NPSF Annual Congress and will be showcased for over 1400 anticipated attendees.

Please note the deadline for submission of applications is Friday, February 9, 2009 at 5:00 pm EST. All abstracts will be given final disposition and notification by Friday, March 6, 2009. Please contact the NPSF conference department at conferences@npsf.org with any questions.

General Information and Guidelines

General Information

• Accepted posters will be displayed on bulletin boards in a designated area of the Exhibit Hall throughout the Congress
• Accepted poster organizations will be included in the Congress materials
• Presenters of posters are encouraged to be available during Exhibit Hall receptions, luncheons, and breaks to answer questions and therefore must register for the entire Congress.
• Deadline for submission of abstracts is Friday, February 9, 2009 at 5 pm ES T; notification of acceptance will be provided by Friday, March 6, 2009.
• Submissions must be made electronically, please send them to the conferences@npsf.org mailbox. Please follow the submission directions when submitting your abstracts.

Review Process

• All abstracts will undergo blind review by at least three Congress Review Committee members;
• Review criteria include significance of the work to the field, clarity of presentation and writing quality.

Session Format
The format described below is a guideline for presenting the work. Abstract submitters are encouraged to explore creative and innovative formats.

• Invited poster presentations must be no larger than can be mounted on a 4 ft. high by 4 ft. wide bulletin board;
• Photographs, newsletters, reports and other documents are examples of items for display;

Research Posters
These posters are intended to highlight cutting edge patient safety research. Abstracts describing research that has been implemented in a practical setting with a discussion of the challenges and barriers to implementation are encouraged. Abstracts must report on findings of recent research, not descriptions of planned research. Basic research and applied research are of equal interest.

Criteria for Selection
Applied research should be:
1.  Research that demonstrates progress in improving patient safety, reducing adverse events, building resistance to failure and learning from failures in trying to do that;
2.  Tested to the extent possible;
3.  Practical to implement;
4.  Creative and innovative; and
5.  Transferable across organizations and settings.

Basic research should:
1.  Include robust methods and data for conducting research in topics related to patient safety;
2.  If hypothesis testing, have sound statistical measures;
3.  If qualitative, use sound qualitative methods;
4.  Be replicable by others.

Solutions Posters
These posters are intended to highlight the use of patient safety approaches, methods and tools and the resulting changes that have led to demonstrable reductions in risk of harm, or improved safety across all areas of health care.

Criteria for Selection
Solutions posters should be:
1.  Results oriented;
2.  Tested to the extent possible;
3.  Practical to implement;
4.  Creative and innovative; and
5.  Transferable across organizations and settings.

Companies submitting solutions posters should include the results/outcomes from the use of their product in a health care setting.

Submission Directions

All poster presentation applications must be submitted electronically by 5 pm EST on Friday, February 9, 2009. Please be prepared to follow the submission directions when preparing your abstract for submission.  Your abstract must be submitted in MS Word document format, single-spaced on 8 ½ by 11-inch paper with 1 inch margins and no less than 10 pt. font and Arial type face.

Presenter Information

• Name and Degree
• Title
• Organization
• Mailing Address, City, State, Zip
• Phone, Fax, Email

Poster Information

• Overall Summary of your project/initiative (e.g., approaches or strategies, obstacles if any, and results or successes with data if available)
• Title of the Project
• Application of your project/initiative to patient safety
• Conclusions and lessons learned
• Future direction
• Maximum of 1500 words

The Program Committee reserves the right to determine abstract acceptance and presentation format and may suggest modifications. The deadline for receipt of abstracts is February 9, 2009 at 5 pm EST . All abstracts will be given final disposition and notification sent out by March 6, 2009.