Presentation Themes

Select one of the following theme options when submitting your abstracts.

• Antimicrobial stewardship
• Climate Change and Health impact of Infectious Diseases
• Clinical management of Infectious diseases
• Consumers
• COVID-19
• Disease epidemiology
• Education and professional development
• Emerging Challenges
• Going green and sustainability
• HAI Surveillance
• Hand Hygiene
• Health services, economics, evaluating infection control
• Human-Animal-Environmental Interface
• Individual based practice change: behaviour change and human factors
• Infection control measures and strategies
• Infection prevention & control in a non-healthcare setting
• Infection prevention & control in a rural or remote setting
• Infection prevention & control in an aged care setting
• Innovative Approaches
• Invasive devices
• IPC Practice – continuous improvement and exploration
• Mental Health & Wellbeing
• One Health Capacity building
• Outbreaks and outbreak management
• Reprocessing and sterilizing services
• Specialised populations: patient needs
• Specialised settings: the environment and the resources available/permissible
• Systems-based practice change: innovation, improvements science and quality improvement
• Veterinary Care and Vaccinations

Abstract Guidelines

• Abstracts must be no longer than 250 words.
• Abstracts need to be written in English.
• Abstracts must be original and unpublished.
• You must declare a potential conflict of interest.
• Ensure that your abstract is grammatically correct and free of other errors.
• Use single spacing for all text.
• Do not use abbreviations in the title of the abstract.
• When using abbreviations in the abstract, spell them out in full at the first mention.
• Capitalize the first letter in trade names.
• Abstracts should NOT contain references, tables, or figures.
• Accepted abstracts will appear exactly as submitted.

1. Prepare your Abstract

Use the template to prepare your abstract, then copy and paste it into the submission portal.

• Title: Use a descriptive title of up to twenty words that indicates the content of the abstract.
• Abstract: Prepare a 250-word abstract for all presentation types.
  • Scientific Oral Presentation abstracts must be formatted as Introduction, Methods, Results and Conclusion.
  • All other abstracts should be formatted as Background (Problem statement and project aim), Method or Actions (What did you do?), Results (What happened as a result? Include patient outcomes if relevant), Conclusion (Implications/Learnings).

2. Corresponding Author

Open the submission portal and enter the contact details of the corresponding author.

3. Abstract Submission Details

You will need to enter the following details for each abstract you submit:

• Presentation title (20 words).
• Abstract (250 words – copy and paste your abstract into the portal).
• Preferred presentation format.
• A theme most suitable for your abstract.
• Names of authors.
• Affiliations of authors.
• Indicate the presenter.
• Short biography of the presenter (100 words).
• Any conflicts of interest(s).
• Whether you would like mentor support.
• Whether you would like your abstract to be excluded from publication in IDH.
• Your stage of career.
• Your experience in presenting at the conference.

Writing an Abstract

An abstract is a short document that captures the interest of potential attendees of your presentation. Your abstract should engage the reader by telling them what your presentation is about. The title of the proposed presentation is also important; short attention-catching titles are the most effective, however, it is also important to ensure that the title describes the subject.

These are questions to consider when writing your abstract.

• Does the title succinctly describe the topic?
• Does the abstract clearly state the topic of the presentation?
• Does the abstract say how the research or project was or is being undertaken?
• Does the abstract give a concise summary of the findings?
• Does the abstract indicate the value of the findings and whom the findings will benefit?
• Does the abstract engage the reader by telling them why they should attend the presentation?
• Is the abstract well written in terms of conciseness, language, and grammar?
• Does the abstract conform to the structure outlined and the word limit?

Correspondence

The submitting author will be the only point of contact for all communication regarding the abstract, including acceptance notification.

Presenter Registration

Abstract presenters will be required to fund their own attendance at the conference and should not submit an abstract if this is not possible. 

All presenters will be required to register for the conference by the early-bird closing date. It will be assumed that any presenter not registered by this date has withdrawn from the program and their abstract will be removed from conference publications.

Presenters also need to meet their own travel and accommodation costs.

Double-Blind Review

Authors and affiliations will be removed from each abstract and they will be reviewed by at least two reviewers using pre-defined criteria. Reviewers’ recommendations and scores will then be assessed by the Scientific Conference Organising Committee.

Only accepted scientific papers using the Introduction, Methods, Results, Conclusion format will be published in a special online edition of Infection, Disease and Health.

Selection Process

Abstracts will be favoured at review if they incorporate original data of high quality and/or an analysis that extends existing knowledge. In balancing the program the committee may require authors to present their work in an alternate format (eg as a poster rather than oral presentation) particularly as limited spots are available for oral presentations.

Scoring

All submissions will be reviewed against set criteria to ensure consistency and fairness in the review process.

Clarity of purpose and objectives of the study

• Is the background of the study/quality improvement initiative appropriate?
• Are the objectives/aims clear and well presented?
• Are the conclusions clear and appropriate to the study/initiative outcomes?

Appropriateness of the methodology and study/initiative design

• Is the study/initiative design appropriate to the hypothesis or aims/objectives of the study?
• Is the methodology used appropriate for that study/initiative?
• Is the data/outcomes analysis and inference done appropriately?

Significance of contribution

• Does it provide innovative/new insights from any perspective?
• Applicability of the study

Authors’ Permission

By submitting an abstract all authors are deemed to have agreed to release the content to the conference organisers and give permission to publish the abstract and presentation in all conference publications including on the website, in the app and printed material.

Presenter Guidelines

A set of guidelines to assist presenters will be made available before the conference.

Cancellations or Change of Presenter

Please avoid late cancellations or changing the presenter as material will be pre-printed with the speaker’s name and organization and cannot be changed at a later date. If you need to cancel or change the presenter, please advise Conference Design at mail@conferencedesign.com.au as early as possible.

Disclosure Of Interest Statement

We recognize the considerable contribution that industry partners make to professional and research activities. We also recognize the need for transparency and the disclosure of potential conflicts of interest by acknowledging these relationships in publications and presentations. Where relevant, all authors must include a disclosure of interest statement in their abstract and if accepted in their presentation. For example, The Melon Institute and Metabolism Corp are funded by the University of Oxbridge, UK. No pharmaceutical grants were received in the development of this study.

Medical Technology Association of Australia Code of Practice

If your presentation refers to medical devices, your abstract and presentation must comply with the Medical Technology Association of Australia Code of Practice.

Infection, Disease and Health

Only accepted scientific papers using the Introduction, Methods, Results, Conclusion format will be published in a special online edition of Infection, Disease and Health, the official journal of the Australasian College for Infection Prevention and Control (ACIPC).

The journal aims to be a platform for the publication and dissemination of knowledge in the area of infection and disease-causing infection in humans. The journal is quarterly and publishes research, reviews, concise communications, commentary and other articles concerned with infection and disease affecting the health of an individual, organisation or population.

The original and important articles in the journal investigate, report or discuss infection prevention and control; clinical, social, epidemiological or public health aspects of infectious disease; health economics, policy and planning for the control of infections; zoonoses; and food hygiene and vaccines related to disease in human health.

The audience of the journal includes researchers, clinicians, health workers and public policy professionals concerned with Infection, Disease and Health.

Prizes and Awards

• Best Oral Presentation: The winner as judged by an appointed panel will be awarded the Elaine Graham Robertson award comprising a plaque and cheque to the value of $500.
• Best Poster Award: There will be two best poster prizes awarded at the conference; one judged by an appointed panel and one delegates choice. Both winners will be announced at the Gala Dinner and Awards Night.

Speaker Biography

A brief biography of the presenter is to be provided when you submit your abstract. Biographies may include the presenter’s position, career details and major work achievements. Biographies should be written in the third person. If your abstract is accepted, your biography will be used when introducing you as a speaker at the conference.

Uploading Your Presentations and Posters

You will be sent links to upload your PowerPoint slides and posters via Drobox.

Publishing your Presentation in the Online Portal

Presentations will be made available to registered delegates for viewing in the online portal for three months unless you advise otherwise. Any additional files authors choose to share via the online portal, as well as live Q & A/panel discussions, will also be available to view during and after the presentation. Access to the portal will be password protected and limited to conference registrants. If presentations are to be used or published in any other format or forum, your specific consent will be requested.

Permission for Material Presented

Please ensure you have documented permission to use any images, music or other content in your abstract and presentation. Do not include any images copied from the internet. Getty Images and other image agencies crawl the internet looking for images that have been copied without the appropriate licenses. You are liable for all copyright infringements that arise from your presentation.

Copyright and Ownership of Material

All materials, including but not limited to presentations, slides, posters, abstracts, papers, and any other written or visual content presented at the event, are the intellectual property of us or the respective authors and presenters. The authors or presenters retain ownership rights to their materials.

Can People Record or Download My Presentation?

During the registration process, attendees agree to the conference Terms & Conditions, which include rules on unauthorized photography and recording of conference material. We cannot enforce this rule completely, so presenters should assume a participant may take unauthorized photographs, screenshots, audio, or video recordings. You may wish to adjust the content of your presentation accordingly. Presentations in the online portal and conference app are available only to view and cannot be downloaded.

Audio Visual Equipment

Each session room will be equipped with the following equipment:

• A presentation laptop running Windows 10 or 11.
• Data projector.
• Screen.
• Lectern.
• Microphone, including sound for your presentation.
• A clicker to progress your slides.
• A laser pointer or mouse for pointing.

All slides will be run from the presentation computer

If you use a Mac, have a complex presentation or require a specific or uncommon program, we suggest you bring your laptop as a backup in case of difficulties loading your presentation. You will need to arrange this in advance with the AV technicians. Please provide any specific audio-visual requirements to the Conference Secretariat at mail@conferencedesign.com.au.

PowerPoint Presentation Tips

• All presentations should be in PowerPoint.
• PowerPoint should be in a 16:9 aspect ratio.
• Video and audio clips should be embedded in your slides rather than linked to external files.
• There should be no more than 5 x 1-line bullet points per slide.
• The optimum title text is 45 – 55 points and no smaller than 36 points.
• Body text should be at least 26 points.
• Avoid UPPERCASE letters as they are hard to read.

Speaker Preparation Room

Please bring your presentation to the conference on a USB stick as a backup. Go to Speaker’s Preparation room at least 4 hours before or the day before your presentation. A technician will be available to load and check your presentation and to discuss any audio-visual queries you may have. If you are not providing slides for your presentation, please advise the AV technician in the Speaker’s Preparation room 4 hours before your session.

Online Oral Presentations

For online presenters, your presentation will be streamed live to delegates via Zoom meetings. Presenters can share their screens and present slides using the standard Zoom meetings functionality. Presenters will need to supply a copy of their slides before the conference as a backup in case of technical difficulty.