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Download Early Career Research Award Guidelines (pdf file)

Abstract submission deadline extended to March 1^st!

Early Career Research Award

“From Research to Policy” Guidelines

1. Background

With the overall theme being “An ecosystem approach to health-enhancing physical activity promotion”, the objective of the 11th conference of HEPA Europe is to engage policymakers, professionals and scientists in the field of health-enhancing physical activity (HEPA). This year, HEPA Europe has established the Early Career Research Award with the aim to recognize the research of junior scientists. In line with the objectives of the meeting, research with concrete links or applications to HEPA policy will be considered for the award.

Young researchers will have the opportunity to enter this prestigious competition for scientific excellence, where outstanding work can be presented at the HEPA Europe annual conference. A jury consisting of members of the HEPA Europe Scientific Committee and staff from the WHO Regional Office for Europe and from the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety, will grant the awards based on an abstract submitted in advance, as well as an oral or poster presentation during the conference. This award can serve to strengthen the careers of engaged researchers at the start of their scientific journey.

Early Career Research Award - categories:

1)    Oral presentation category (award by the WHO Regional office for Europe)

2)    Poster presentation category (award by the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety - Anses)

2. General guidelines

All abstracts should be submitted electronically through the abstract submission system. The deadline for the submission of abstracts is 1 March 2020, 12:00 Central European Time. Abstracts received after closing of the abstract system will not be accepted. All abstracts should be submitted using the on-line application form. After having submitted your abstract, you will receive an automatic email confirmation (this may take several minutes).

Submitted abstracts will be reviewed by the Scientific Committee and staff from WHO Regional Office for Europe and from the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety, and all authors will be informed about the acceptance of their submission throughout the process and at the latest by 17 April 2020.

Please note that submitting an abstract does not mean you are registered for the 2020 HEPA Europe Conference. Conference registration is a separate process that is required for all presenters.

Registration fees of the presenting author must be paid by 31 May 2020 at the latest to secure the presentation during the conference and the publication in the Book of Abstracts.

3. Types of presentations

You should indicate your presentation preferences. The following possibilities are available:

• Oral presentation category
• Poster presentation category

4. Early Career Research Award reviewing criteria

The following are the reviewing criteria to be considered for the award:

• A 350-word research summary that highlights the relevance of the research in the field of HEPA and a clear connection or link to HEPA policy;
• During the conference, a well-prepared poster or oral presentation summarizing the highlights of the research, including the background, methodology, results and conclusions of the study;
• The work is original, not published, or accepted for publication, at the time of the abstract submission deadline;
• The work is innovative;
• The methodology is sound and the data are solid;
• There is a clear conclusion or take-home message;
• There is a clear link between research and policy;
• The work has either a high impact on HEPA research or has a potential high impact in the future;

Note: Only one abstract per candidate will be considered.

5.    Early Career Research Award requirements

The following requirements must be met within the requested deadlines to successfully apply for the Early Career Research Award HEPA Europe 2020:

• A 350-word abstract;
• A poster to display or an oral presentation during the HEPA Europe conference
• Curriculum vitae (maximum 2 pages);
• A short biography (max. 200 words);
• The applicant must be within five years of receiving their highest degree.
• The applicant must live, work or study in a country of the WHO European Region

The curriculum vitae and the short biography will be requested to applicants by WHO and Anses following the notification of the acceptance of their abstract.

6. Conference tracks

In order to have a better understanding on the topic of your abstract, we kindly ask you to choose two tracks.

The choices for tracks include:

1. Physical activity policy
2. Settings-based Physical Activity interventions
3. Modern technology in physical activity promotion
4. Active transport
5. Physical activity prescription
6. Prevalence and determinants of physical activity
7. Physical activity and health outcomes
8. Physical activity in children and adolescents
9. Active ageing
10. Physical activity in clinical populations
11. Physical activity and functional limitations
12. Physical activity measurement, monitoring and surveillance
13. Compositional data paradigm in physical activity research
14. Sedentary behaviour
15. Social disadvantage
16. Built and natural environments, physical activity campaigns, climate change (how climate influences PA and how increasing PA may contribute to climate change 

7. Prize

An award certificate, along with a special prize will be bestowed to the winners of the Early Career Research Award (oral and poster presentations). For the oral presentation award, the certificate will be signed by the Chair of HEPA Europe network and the Head of the WHO European Office for Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases. For the poster presentation award, the certificate will be signed by the CEO of the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety (Anses).

8. Keywords

You are asked to provide 5 keywords (maximum) that would best fit the content of your abstract. Do not use the words from the track name you have chosen.

9. Guidelines for authors

All abstracts must be submitted and, if accepted, presented in English.

9.1 Abstract submission

The title of the abstract should not exceed 25 words and the main text should not exceed 350 words. If you exceed the word limit, the system will not accept the abstract. Abstract titles should be in lower case, except the first word and countries. Do not use capital letters only and avoid using abbreviations or acronyms. Give geographic location and dates if applicable.

Authors and co-authors: you can include up to 10 co-authors. Please follow the instructions carefully and make sure that initials, last name, department, institution, town and country are completed. To add an author, click on ‘create a new author’. To add an affiliation, click on ‘add affiliation’. Please make sure that you use the English version of the institute, town and country. Spell out the full name of the institution and do not use abbreviations such as ‘Univ.’ for ‘University’.

9.2 Abstracts format: Abstracts should be structured depending on the type of abstract as follows: 

Research abstracts

Background: Address the scientific background and rationale for the study as well as the HEPA significance of the subject. Explain why your study is important and what question(s) it will answer.

Methods: Describe the study design, setting (such as community, clinic, hospital), study participants, analytic and/or intervention techniques and outcome measures.

Results: Present the major quantitative and qualitative findings, including confidence intervals or levels of significance of statistical tests, as appropriate. Although negative as well as positive results may be of interest, report only those results that relate to your conclusion. Since an abstract may be cited, this section must contain data rather than a statement like “Data will be discussed”. If appropriate, state that the results are preliminary.

Conclusions: State only those conclusions that are directly supported by data. Report on the HEPA public health actions that are recommended and/or have been implemented as a consequence of the study.

Policy and practice abstracts

Issue/problem: Describe the issue/problem that was addressed by the policy or HEPA Intervention. Include the background and settings of the issue/problem as well as the HEPA policy significance of the subject. Explain why your intervention is important and useful for other settings / countries.

Description of the problem: This should be a clear and critical description including time frame, objectives and methods used. The policy or practice should be innovative and relevant for other countries/settings. List the questions you want to be answered by the project.

Results (effects/changes): Present the results (effects/changes) from the policy or intervention, taking into account that the questions you asked are properly answered. Although negative as well as positive lessons learnt may be of interest, report only those lessons that relate to your policy or intervention. Since an abstract may be cited, this section must contain data rather than a statement like “Results will be presented at the conference”. If appropriate, state that the results are preliminary.

Lessons: State only those lessons learned that are directly supported by the project/intervention. Report on the HEPA actions that are recommended and/or have been implemented as a consequence of the policy or practice. Highlight the importance of the lessons learned for other settings/countries. Describe the ways in which the HEPA actions were innovative.

Main messages: Write two short messages (200 characters maximum) which summarize the main impact of your work.

10. Abstract submission process

All abstracts should be submitted by an author using the on-line application form: http://hepa2021.mycongressonline.net.

Corresponding authors will be informed about the acceptance of their submission on 30 March 2020. All accepted abstracts will be published in the Book of Abstracts. The registration fee of the presenter must be paid by 31 May 2020 at the latest to secure the presentation.

11. Notification

The submitter will be notified of the acceptance of the abstract(s) by 17 April March 2020. The results will also be available through the submitter account.

Further instructions for authors whose abstracts are accepted for symposium, oral or poster presentations are posted on the HEPA Conference website.