Call for Abstracts

Food, Diets, & Nutrition: 25 Years of Progress for Nepal

Nutrition Innovation Lab 6th Annual Scientific Symposium and Celebration of Nepal’s progress in Nutrition 

Co-hosted by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, UNICEF - Nepal, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Food Policy, Government of Nepal, Institute of Medicine, Tribhuvan University, Nepal Agricultural Research Council, and Nepali Technical Assistance Group

Deadline: The deadline for abstracts submission has been extended - the new deadline is July 20, 2018 by 12 am EST

We invite abstracts on the following themes for this year’s event:

  • Food systems and the food policy environment
  • Novel technologies in agriculture, food safety, and nutrition
  • Linkages: diet, nutrition and health
  • Social equity, gender and access to food
  • Evaluations of agricultural and nutrition interventions
  • Novel methodological approaches to understand agriculture – nutrition linkages

Guidelines for Abstract Submission

Please carefully review all guidelines prior to developing your abstract. All abstracts submitted this year are expected to show a clear link to improving household food security and/or nutritional status of household members. If there is not a clear link, authors must be able to elaborate on why the research presented may be relevant and/or have the potential to improve these outcomes. Abstracts will be considered for oral or poster presentation. Abstracts have a word limit this year of 500 words excluding title, authors and affiliations. Instructions for abstract submission must be strictly followed to be considered for presentation.

Instructions for Abstract Submission:

  1. Use a 12-point type size and Arial font.
  2. Use single-spacing when submitting the abstract.
  3. Proof read abstract for accuracy and grammatical errors.
  4. Save and submit as a PDF (only PDF docs will be accepted).

Please follow the format below for your abstract:

  1. Title: Please include a title followed by a period. Authors: Continue with all name(s), affiliations, and address(es) (city and country) of author(s), followed by a period. Underline the name of the individual who will give the presentation.
  2. Background: Provide a brief description of the problem/topic being researched or the problem/issue being addressed by a program.
  3. Objective/Aim: For research papers, provide the objective/aim the study’s importance or relevance to the field and the major hypotheses. For program papers, provide the objectives of the program.
  4. Methods: For research papers, describe clearly the design or methodology of the study including measurements used. For program papers, describe the theoretical framework/conceptual framework/impact pathway of the program and provide a description of the program’s design and implementation. Also include, what methods (for example: step-wedge design, adequacy, plausibility, before/after evaluations) were used to study the program before, during and after its implementation and data collection methods used.
  5. Results: For research papers, outline major results (with statistical significance figures as appropriate). For program papers provide the outcome and/or process evaluation results. This section must be clear and results must be reported in the abstract for it to be considered.
  6. Conclusions: For research papers, provide major conclusions based on the findings. For program papers, describe the program’s implications.

Queries can be sent to: nilsymposium@gmail.com

Standards of Evidence

Abstracts are invited to be submitted for review using the following type of research and study designs. Directly addressing the causal pathway includes efficacy and effectiveness research that can directly evaluate impact. Efficacy is the extent to which an intervention (technology, procedure, service, food delivery, and nutrients) improves a condition when known to be delivered through a defined system. Effectiveness refers to effects of an intervention when delivered under usual program conditions. Both are best determined by the conduct of randomized field trials, which can vary in design and detail. Pseudo-experimental designs, including non-random allocation and before-after evaluations, offer a lesser degree of evidence on cause and effect, but are often an only option. Non-intervention evidence can offer strength in association that may be consistent with impact or raise hypotheses about impact and modifiable risk factors. Epidemiological approaches can link individual exposures to status or outcomes. Marketing studies can track food product flow, value added and present evidence of availability and access. Ecological studies relate to community characteristics and associations that may reflect food security in an area. Surveys provide cross- sectional descriptions of existing situations, status profiles and prevalence in a population. Surveillance reveals trends in health and nutritional status, dietary availability, access and intake, over time, typically assessed as community panels or longitudinally in individuals. Qualitative studies must present how and why specific legitimizing criteria (theory and methods) were chosen in ensuring the robustness of their inquiries

Selection process

Abstracts will be reviewed by an expert panel and selected for either oral or poster presentations based on scientific quality and relevance of the research to the themes above. Work in progress will be considered only for posters

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