19th World Congress on Disaster & Emergency Medicine
 
Call for Abstracts
***CALL FOR ABSTRACTS IS NOW CLOSED***

The World Association for Disaster Emergency Medicine (WADEM) and the Emergency Medicine Society of South Africa (EMSSA) are calling for abstracts for the 19th World Congress for Disaster Emergency Medicine (WCDEM).

This year’s theme Creating Capacity, Building Resilience includes topics within the spectrum of humanitarian disaster impacts to global health systems and prehospital and crisis response. Presentation content will extend from South Africa to regional and global challenges, having applicability to all communities that are vulnerable to disaster.

Population pressures and shifting environmental shocks will continue to demand collaborative efforts, making case studies and applications of science particularly valuable contributions to WCDEM. Preparedness efforts focused on vulnerable populations that include capacity building strategies at all response levels and segments, e.g., local, national, civilian-military, nonprofits are encouraged to submit their work.

Transferring knowledge to the next generation of crisis response leaders is a long-term commitment of WADEM/WCDEM. Training, education, and knowledge sharing are crucial components. All abstracts submissions are encouraged to consider the transferability of their work to attendees of differing geographic contexts of humanitarian response.

Abstract topic areas include:
  1. Capacity Strategies
  2. Collaborative Relationships
  3. Disaster Risk Management
  4. Emergency Medical Systems / Prehospital Response and Care
  5. Hospitals and Health Systems
  6. Entrenched and Emerging Vulnerabilities
  7. Environmental Challenges and Realities
  8. Foreign Medical Teams
  9. Mass Gatherings
  10. Medico- Legal
  11. Pediatrics and Vulnerable Populations
  12. Planning for Response, Modeling for the Future
  13. Preparation and Assessment in Disasters
  14. Psychosocial
  15. Public Health
  16. Research
  17. Social Media
  18. Training and Education
  19. French Papers
  20. Spanish Papers
  21. Other Relevant Topics to Congress Theme
Submission Guidelines
  • All abtracts must be submitted electronically using the WCDEM submission system. Abstract submissions by email will not be accepted.
  • Abstracts CANNOT exceed 300 words (approximately 2,000 characters including spaces, but excluding the title and the authors).
  • Papers must not have been published previously.
    • Selected papers may be published in Prehospital and Disaster Medicine.
  • Abstracts must be submitted under one of the following abstract types:
    • Research data
    • Proposed study suggestions
    • Field/case study reports
  • Abstracts must be submitted under one of the following presentation preferences:
    • Oral Presentation
    • Oral Poster Presentation to Focus Group
    • No Preference
  • Final presentation type is determined by the program committee.
    • If you select “Oral Presentation” your oral abstract will be considered for an “Oral Poster Presentation to Focus Group.“ If not accepted for an Oral Presentation, you may opt out of this option during the submission process.
  • Content must be organized as follows:
    • Study/Objective
    • Background
    • Methods
    • Results
    • Conclusion
  • Photos are not permitted.
  • 1 Table or 1 diagram is permitted.
  • Papers will be accepted in English, French and Spanish.
    • English is the official language of the Congress.
  • There is no fee for submitting an abstract.
  • There is no limit to the number of abstracts an author may submit.
  • Commercial presentations are not permitted.
  • The submission of an abstract carries with it the obligation that it will be presented at the 19th WCDEM.
  • License of copyright and consent to publication:
    When you submit an abstract, you will be asked to verify as the author and on behalf of all authors of the abstract, the following declarations:
    • All authors of the abstract have reviewed the abstract and confirm that all information is correct. The authors accept that the content of this abstract cannot be modified or corrected after final submission, and they are aware that it will be published exactly as submitted.
    • Submission of the abstract constitutes consent of all authors of the abstract to publication (e.g. WADEM/WCDEM website, programs, other promotions).
    • All authors of the abstract warrant and represent that they either are the sole owners of, or have all necessary rights to, sublicense all the information and content in the abstract provided to WADEM and its WCDEM organizers, and that publication of the abstract does not infringe any rights, including but not limited to, intellectual property rights, or of any third parties.
    • All authors of the abstract grant WADEM a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, and nonexclusive license to use, reproduce, publish, translate, distribute, and display the abstract.
    • All authors of the abstract grant exclusive permission to WADEM to record the audio and video portion, if any, of the abstract presentation at WCDEM and to collect and retain all revenues from all rebroadcasts (including web broadcasts), sales, and publications of such recordings.
    • WADEM reserves the right to remove from any publication any abstract that does not comply with the above.
    • Submission of the contact details provided are those of the submitter of the abstract. The submitter will be notified about the status of the abstract and is responsible for informing the other authors about the status of the abstract.
  • Abstracts must be submitted by Friday, December 12, 2014 at 11:59PM PST. Late submissions will not be accepted.

Presenting authors of accepted abstracts are required to register for the WCDEM and are responsible for their own travel arrangements. Please take advantage of reduced registration fees by registering before the early registration deadline on Friday, February 6, 2015. If not registered by the deadline the abstract will be excluded from the program.