Abstract Submission

General Requirements

• Abstracts may have been presented previously (within the past year) but should not have been published as a full manuscript in any journal.
• Abstracts must follow the submission guidelines below. FaithCare reserves the right to refuse review of an abstract if it does not conform to all submission requirements.
• Case reports are rarely appropriate, unless they provide new insights and teach / show something important and true.
• If accepted, the abstract will likely be published in the Global Impact Journal (At this point, a non-peer reviewed journal). Late-breaking abstracts may be published in the journal.
• FaithCare membership is not required for any presenting author or co-author of a submitted abstract.
• There are no restrictions on the number of abstracts one can submit, but a person may only be designated as presenter on a maximum of two abstract submissions.

Oral Presentations

• For the 2024 Conference, there will be no oral abstracts. Starting in 2025, there will be a limited number of abstracts accepted for oral presentations. Submissions of top-scoring abstracts will be invited to present their work from the podium at specific sessions during the 2025 Global Impact Conference.

Poster Presentations

• Posters will be presented as a physical printed poster board.

On-Line Submission

• Regular abstracts must be submitted online via FaithCare’s website and must be completed by July 15, 2024 (11:59 PM, Eastern). Late breaking submissions will be accepted and must be completed by August 15, 2024 (11:59 PM, Eastern).
• All required fields on the abstract submission webpage must be completed.
• Conflict of Interest (COI) fields MUST be completed with ACCURATE information.
• Submissions must present both proposed and completed data sets.

Format Specifications

• Abstract title must not be more than 120 characters, including spaces. Do not use uncommon abbreviations or acronyms in the title. Capitalize the first letter and use lower case letters unless a specific word or words is/are ordinarily capitalized.
• Do not use brand or trade names in the title or in the presentation.
• Abstracts must not be more than 250 words.
• Abstracts may contain no more than 1 table or 1 figure.
• Abstracts must be submitted in English.
• Each submission should include the following headings in bold:
  • Objective – state concisely why the study was conducted.
  • Methods – indicate the type of study design, setting, location, patients, interventions or exposures, comparators, outcome measures, and statistics.
  • Results – indicate the primary outcome of the study and statistical significance/major limitations; it is not satisfactory to state, “The results will be discussed.”
  • Conclusions – state the main conclusions of the study, the significance of the results and the implications of how the results may affect patient management, or our understanding of the condition.

Ethics of Research and Presentation

• Authors of reports of original research should present an accurate account of the work performed and an objective discussion of its importance. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable.
• If the work involves the use of animal subjects, the author should ensure that the work described was conducted in accordance with the position of the American Association for the Advancement for Science in requiring assurances of the responsible use of animals in research.
• If the work involves human subjects, the author should ensure that the work described was conducted in accordance with The Code of Ethics of the World Medical Association (Declaration of Helsinki) for experiments involving humans. A statement of IRB approval or waiver must be included for research involving humans.
• The privacy rights of human subjects must always be observed. Patients must not be identified by name or initials. No other information, including clinical photos or family trees, from which a patient could be identified is permitted unless express written permission from the patient/family is provided at the time of manuscript submission.
• Appropriate consents, permissions, and releases must be obtained when an author wishes to include case details or other personal information or images of patients and any other individuals. Unless written permission from the patient (or, where applicable, the next of kin) exists, the personal details of any patient included in any part of the report and in any supplementary materials (including all illustrations and videos) must be removed before submission. To respect patients and any other individual’s privacy, do not send signed consent forms to FaithCare. Retain the signed form(s) in the event they should be needed.

Disclosure

• A conflict of interest may exist when an author or the author’s institution has a financial or other relationship with other people or organizations that may inappropriately influence the author’s work.
• All authors disclosures must be declared at the time of abstract submission. If an author is employed by a commercial interest (any entity producing, marketing, re-selling, or distributing health care goods or services consumed by, or used on, patients which may include pharmaceutical companies, device manufacturers or distributors, service companies, or other for-profit entities), the abstract should apply to be a POSTER only.

Peer Review

• All submissions will be peer reviewed anonymously by members of FaithCare, based on: scientific merit, Missions & Humanitarian value, originality, and relevancy to a Faith-Based approach to Health, Hope, and Healing.
• Scientific Merit: Is the study design appropriate to the study aims? How strong are the research methods with respect to selection of participant (inclusion/exclusion) and procedures used to assess outcome measures? Is the analytic approach appropriate to the study goals? Do the study conclusions flow from the results? Are study limitations recognized? Is the research study presented in a clear and easily understandable manner?
• Originality: Is the study innovative? Does the project challenge and shift current research or clinical practice paradigms by utilizing novel theoretic concepts, approaches or methodologies, instrumentation or interventions? Are the results newsworthy?
• Relevancy: Does the project impact an important problem or a critical barrier to progress in the field Medical Missions and a Faith-Based approach to Health, Hope, and Healing? Does the project improve scientific knowledge, technical capability and/or clinical practice? Does the project change the concepts, methods, technologies, treatments, services, or preventative interventions that drive the field of Medical Missions and a Faith-Based approach to Health, Hope, and Healing? Are the goals of the science, the findings, and the interpretation readily accessible to the audience?

Notification of Receipt and Acceptance

• Receipt of abstract submissions will be sent via email to the corresponding author.
• Authors selected to present at the FaithCare 2024 Global Impact Conference will be required to confirm the availability of the presenting author to present at the meeting and must provide their presentations by Oct 11, 2024.

Withdrawals

• Authors may withdraw their abstract until Aug 15, 2024. After that date, FaithCare will not be able to remove the abstracts from publication.