Call for Abstracts - CAMH

Download Abstract Information as PDF

Invitation

Hosted by the Australian Infant Child Adolescent and Family Mental Health Association (AICAFMHA), the 6th National Child & Adolescent Mental Health (CAMH) Conference will be held in Adelaide, South Australia during October 2009. This will be a major occasion on the Australian mental health calendar, with the conference theme, "Together" encouraging us all to look at the ways in which we work with and support children and families where mental health is an issue.

The Inaugural World COPMI Conference will be held concurrently with the 6th National CAMH Conference.
These joint events constitute a unique opportunity for professionals and consumers from the many fields associated with mental health to share ideas, develop networks and participate in knowledge enhancement. Delegates can choose to attend either or both events, and are invited to also participate in the workshops on offer.

AICAFMHA is enthusiastic about developing a strong and inclusive scientific program. Representation from youth, consumers and carers will be a key feature. In addition, a number of prominent Australian speakers have been invited to participate and negotiations are underway for international keynotes.

Contributions are invited for abstracts addressing one or more of the forum themes. You may choose to submit your abstract for either an oral presentation in a formal concurrent session or a poster presentation. If you wish to submit an abstract for consideration by the CAMH Conference Program Committee, you must intend to register for the Conference.

Posters will be on display at the forum and authors will be allocated a time to discuss their work with delegates. Please note that abstracts should have an emphasis on ideas for action and tools for implementation, and must include a description of two learning outcomes for delegates.

Who should submit?

We wish to hear from

Mental health workers
General practice and primary care providers
Community and youth workers
Consumers, carers and young people
Education and support workers
Clinicians and clinical service managers
Health managers from all sectors of the public and private health system
Medical administrators and managers

Conference Themes

The conference theme, "Together" encourages us all to look at the ways in which we work with and support children and families where mental health is an issue. The subthemes for the 6th National CAMH Conference include:

Exploring clinical practice together
This theme will incorporate topics which look at the ways in which workers can contribute to improved outcomes for consumers and their families, by incorporating research findings, evaluation and benchmarking into clinical practice improvements. Innovative and emerging clinical practice methodologies in infant, child and adolescent mental health care delivery will be showcased along with outcome measurement strategies.

Working together with children, young people and their families
Effective partnerships with consumers, carers and young people continue to be recognised as key contributors to effective and positive mental health service delivery and outcomes. Papers demonstrating effective and successful partnership strategies will be included in this stream.

Developing policy together
In the field of child and adolescent mental health, there is an ongoing struggle to have the unique needs of infants, children and young people recognised within state and national mental health planning. Papers in this theme should address issues relating to professionals, consumers and families working together with other key stakeholders to influence policy to improve mental health outcomes for the infant, child and adolescent populations.

Working together with high risk populations
A range of risk factors have been identified that may contribute to an increased incidence of mental health issues for children and young people. These include being of Indigenous descent, refugee status, children in care and children in families with substance abuse issues. This theme will address issues relating to developing and delivering effective interventions and promotion/prevention programs within these, and other, vulnerable populations.

Formatting Your Abstract

Before submitting your abstract online, please use the following links to download formatting instructions and an abstract template to prepare and save your abstract in MS Word.

Download the Instructions for Authors as PDF
Download the Abstract template as MS Word
Please save this template and use it when you prepare your abstract.

Abstract Submission

Abstracts for oral paper and poster presentations must be no longer than 300 words in length
Abstract submissions must include a description of two learning outcomes for delegates.

All abstracts MUST be submitted using the on-line template and the closing date for submission is 30th April 2009

Once you have prepared your abstract as a MS Word document using the template provided above, you will need to submit it online. Please follow the instructions for using the online abstract submission system.

Download the Instructions for use of the Online Abstract Submission System

When you click on the link below to submit your abstract, you will first be asked to register your details with the submission system. The password that you choose and your email address will be used to log into the submission system when your abstract is completed and ready to send.

Click here for CAMH Abstract Submission

On completion of your abstract submission and having answered all the mandatory questions, your abstract will be assigned a reference number and you will be sent an email confirming receipt of your abstract. If you do not receive a confirmation email, please contact the Secretariat at camh@sapmea.asn.au

Only abstracts submitted using the official template will be accepted for consideration. A blind selection process will be used. No identifying features such as names of organisations, cities, clinics, services or programs may be listed in the title or text of the abstract. Do NOT include the names of authors either. The names of authors and affiliations (institutions) will be recorded when you submit your abstract.

Presentation Options

Oral Presentations
20 minutes with 5 minutes of questions and answers (Subject to change)

Poster Presentations
Poster size: Maximum width 100 cm, maximum height 100 cm
Posters will be on display at the conference and authors will be allocated time to discuss their work with delegates.

Notification of result
Notification of acceptance or rejection of your submission will be via your e-mail address provided, no later than 30th June 2009.

Please Note:

All presenters must register and pay for at least the day of the conference on which they are presenting.

All accepted abstracts will be published in the Abstract Book. It is essential that authors obtain written permission to reproduce material from other sources and acknowledge the source/s.

Papers must be presented by the authors – exception in an emergency such as an illness or misadventure.

Where an abstract is submitted by more than one person, only the first author will be advised in writing about the acceptance or otherwise of the abstract submission.

All conference rooms will be supplied with data projection, networked PC at lectern, screens, microphones and audio speakers. Speakers will be required to bring their own disks, USBs or CDs containing the full presentation.