Key Dates

• September 5, 2022 – Abstract submission is open with continuous review process
• December 1, 2022 – Last day to submit an abstract with the guarantee that it will be reviewed in time for author to register at Early Bird rate.
• January 17, 2023 – Early Bird Registration deadline
• February 1, 2023 – Abstract Submission Closes
• February 2, 2023 – Late Breaker Abstract Submission opens
• March 15, 2023 – Late Breaker Abstract Submission closes
• April 15, 2023 – Presenting Author Registration deadline

Abstract Program Overview

Abstract submission is open to all.  We encourage submissions from students, researchers, academics, clinicians and service providers, policy developers and makers, advocates research funders, health system managers and governors with evidence, knowledge, and perspectives relevant to better understanding the biological, genetic, social, cultural, and economic, developmental aspects of NCDs as well as their prevention, detection, diagnosis, treatment,  management, service utilization and access.  The topic of an abstract should contribute to our knowledge base, evidentiary foundation, theory or perspectives for improving our ability to understand, prevent, identify, treat or manage any aspect of NCDs using tools such as research, clinical interventions, technology, policy, healthcare organization, knowledge translation, capacity building, education, and governance.   

Congress Themes

To offer options aligned with the overall theme of Congress and to help attendees find presentations, symposia, workshops, and posters of interest, the Congress has been organized into sub themes or tracts.  You will be asked to select which theme or themes your abstract is most closely aligned with. The degree to which an abstract aligns with at least one sub-theme will be considered when accepting abstracts and placing them together with other presentations.  You have the option of selecting up to three of the following six sub-themes for each abstract.

Presentation Options

A variety of options exist for presenting at the Congress:

Individual and small group options include:

• Presenting a paper at a concurrent paper session (typically 3 to 5 people present individually around a common theme).  Submission deadline is February 1, 2023.
• Presenting a poster.  Submission deadline is February 1, 2023. 
• Presenting a late breaking paper or poster.  Submission deadline is March 15, 2023.  

Groups of people, organizations, or networks may also consider the following options which require a financial contribution:

• Organizing pre-congress workshop or symposium (12 half day and 6 full day available)
• Organizing a breakfast workshop (75 minutes long; 16 available)
• Sponsoring a lunchtime symposium (6 available)

Platform or Poster: For a regular individual platform presentation at a concurrent paper session or to present a poster the deadline for submission is February 1, 2023. There will be a continuous peer review by the Scientific Program Committee with the goal of having an abstract reviewed within 30 days. The submitting author will be notified of acceptance by email within 30-45 days of submitting their abstract.  

Organized group concurrent paper sessions:  Groups of four or five presenters may request the opportunity to jointly share a concurrent paper session of 90 minutes. A title for the overall group session which reflects how or why the papers are related must be determined before submission.  Each presenter must submit a separate abstract indicating that it is a request to be part of a group session.  Each abstract must list the session title and sesson organizer’s name and identify which of the presenters will serve as a moderator for the session. The moderator’s role is to welcome guests, introduce each speaker, facilitate audience questions and ensure the session starts and ends on time. The Scientific Committee will assign a room, date and time for the joint session.  The deadline for submission of abstracts for a group paper session is February 1, 2023. Like individual abstract submission, there will be a continuous peer review by the Scientific Committee with the goal of having an abstract reviewed within 30 days after the last abstract is submitted. The authors will be notified of acceptance by email within 30-45 days of the last submission received.  Due to space and other concerns, it is possible that the request for a group session may not be approved.  However, in this case, some or all of the individual abstracts may still be approved for inclusion in a session assigned by the Scientific Committee.   

Workshop: Organizations wishing to hold a skill-building 75 minute Breakfast Workshop are requested to submit a written proposal to the Scientific Committee via email at info@torontownc2023.org. The deadline for Workshop submissions is February 1, 2023.

The proposal must be no longer than two pages and contain the following information:

Symposia: Organizations wishing to hold a pre-Congress Symposium, or a Luncheon Symposium during Congress, are requested to view the WNCD 2023 Sponsor Prospectus. A fee will apply to hold a Symposium.  

January 3, 2023 will be the last day to submit an abstract with the guarantee that it will be reviewed in time for author to register at the Early Bird rate.

Platform Presentation Information

The length of each platform presentation will depend upon the number of participants assigned to each 90 minute concurrent paper session. Each session normally has up to five presenters, but also requires time for the audience to arrive, and for presenters to receive an orientation to AV equipment, and to be introduced. Therefore, to assist with scheduling, presentations should be designed to take no more than 15 minutes per person, including questions from the audience. Presentation specifics will be communicated to the submitting author identified as the presenter closer to the Congress date.

Poster Display Information- in person and virtual

Posters will be on display on poster boards for one day of the Congress.  Day of display and display requirements will be communicated to the submitting author closer to the Congress date. The presenting author is required to be at their poster during poster viewing times to answer questions. In addition, the author will be required to submit a pdf of their poster to the virtual Congress platform, where virtual attendees will be able to view and ask questions to the author. The author is expected to log in to the virtual platform on a daily basis during Congress to answer any questions.

Abstract Specifics

The length of the abstract will be limited to 500 words not including the abstract title, learning objectives, author names or affiliations. You will be asked to include the following information:

1. Background, objectives and/or purpose of your work
2. Design, methods, perspectives, or approaches used to undertake the work
3. Key results, findings, insights and limitations
4. Conclusions/recommendations/or how this work will help NCD origins, causes, prevention, assessment or diagnosis, treatment, management, governance of one or more NCDs in one or more settings or geographic areas. 
5. Two Learning Objectives

Late Breaking Results

A limited number of posters and individual concurrent presentations will be reserved for persons who submit an abstract describing results or developments which occurred close to or after the normal abstract deadline.  It may not be possible to schedule these posters and presentations with those addressing a similar theme or topic.  The last day to submit an abstract for a late breaking poster or concurrent session presentation is March 15, 2023.  Authors will be notified of acceptance by April 15, 2023.

Inclusion in Special Paper Sessions

Special concurrent and poster sessions may be organized to profile the work of students; researchers, practitioners, and others who are within five years of starting their profession or completing their terminal degree or qualification. Special concurrent and poster sessions may also be arranged for persons from various equity and diversity groups, as well as those from low and middle income nations.  Presenters have the option of indicating whether they wish to be included in one or more of these special concurrent sessions, should there be sufficient expression of interest.    

Language of submission and presentation

With apologies, we are only able to accept abstracts submitted in English. All presentations must be given in English, no translation will be provided.

Special Assistance

Alternatively abled persons with visual, hearing, mobility, speech, or other impairments will be invited to indicate any special support or equipment you require to present your concurrent platform paper or poster (e.g., wheel chair access, a guide, etc.).

Congress Registration and Submission Details

Presenting Author Registration

The presenting author MUST register for WCND 2023 by April 15, 2023 or the abstract will automatically be withdrawn.

Number of Submissions

There is no limit on how many abstracts a person may submit, nor on the number of times that a person’s name may appear as a member of a team on abstracts submitted to the conference.

Number of Presentations

The maximum number of abstract presentations one individual can present (be listed as the presenting author) is 3 (three). This excludes pre conference symposia or workshops, lunchtime symposiums or breakfast workshops. In cases where a person is involved in more than three accepted abstracts, that person may be listed as the presenter only three times. 

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

To facilitate greater equity, diversity and inclusion at the Congress, presenters will be invited to  voluntarily indicate whether you self identify as a member of one or more groups:

• Indigenous,
• A differently abled person,
• LGBTQ,
• A member of a racialized or visible minority
• Patient Partner.

This information will remain strictly confidential and only used by the Scientific Committee to facilitate equity, diversity and inclusion across our presenters, and at an aggregate level for the Congress final evaluation report. 

Conflict of Interest Disclosure

During the abstract submission process, you will be asked to disclose any conflicts of interest. If an author or immediate family member has had a substantial personal financial relationship relating to the support of the abstract within the past five years, this relationship must be described. Such relationships include salaries, ownerships, equity positions, stock options, royalties, consulting fees and honoraria for speaking, material support and other financial arrangements.

Authorizations and Permissions

To enhance international access to the Congress, many in-person (live) presentations may be simultaneously broadcast and/or recorded for viewing through a special conference portal up to 12 months after the end of the Congress.  Unless authors explicitly withhold their consent in writing to the Congress Scientific Committee at the time of their abstract submission, submission of an abstract implies that all authors identified on the abstract provide their consent and authorization for the Congress Executive Committee and the non-profit corporate entity known as Toronto WNC 2023, to:

1. Broadcast your presentation to registered Congress participants,
2. Record your presentation,
3. Make your presentation available for viewing to registered Congress participants through a dedicated Congress website, and,
4. Set and collect a modest fee to recover the costs associated with the broadcast, recording, downloads and host portal.

In granting these consents and authorizations, the Executive Committee and Toronto WNC 2023 will ensure that the names, and affiliations of authors will be clearly acknowledged at the time of broadcast or as part of the download/on demand viewing; that the Congress Executive Committee and/or Toronto WNC 2023 will communicate to viewers that they have obtained the authors consent for broadcast, recording and downloading; that copyright for the content of the presentation broadcast and/or recording remains with the authors or those for whom rights have been transferred or assigned. It is also understood that authors will not be paid or receive any type of compensation, fee, royalty or commission in exchange for broadcasting, recording or enabling third parties to download their presentation for viewing. In the absence of such a request, the consents and authorizations shall expire at 11:59 pm on June 30, 2024. 

Encore Presentations

Encore presentations (abstracts that have already been presented and/or published elsewhere) must be disclosed and will only be accepted as posters, will not be published in the Journal of Non-communicable Diseases or any other conference proceedings. It is the responsibility of the presenter to obtain permission from the copyright holder to present their work at the 3rd World NCD Congress in Toronto.  

Publication of Abstracts

All accepted abstracts will be published in the International Journal of Noncommunicable Diseases (www.ijncd.org), provided the presenting author registers for the Congress by April 15, 2023. By submitting an abstract, you consent to the publication of this abstract and attest that, unless it has been identified as an “encore presentation”, the abstract has not previously been published elsewhere.

Awards and Student Travel Support

Poster Awards

Poster presentations will be judged by the Scientific Committee for the best poster in three categories:

1. Full time student,
2. Early career researcher or professional, and,
3. Established researcher/professional. 

Winners will be awarded a Certificate of Merit. Encore presentations are not eligible for the Poster Award. During the abstract submission process you will be asked if you wish for the presenting author of the abstract to be considered for one of the awards, if eligible.

The award winners will be decided using a randomized process from the pool of accepted abstracts

Student Travel Support

A limited number of travel awards will be made available to students from Canada and from Low and Middle Income Countries (LMIC). LMIC are defined by the World Bank using this list: (https://data.worldbank.org/country/low-and-middle-income?locations=XO). Awards will be based on a combination of abstract score and relevance to the program, and will be distributed amongst a variety of topics. To be eligible, the student must be either enrolled full-time as a Bachelor’s, Master’s or Doctoral student or as a post-doctoral fellow at a recognized Canadian or LMIC academic institution.

Questions

If you have any questions regarding scientific content, contact Professor Paul McDonald, Chair of the Scientific Committee, by email at paulmcdo@yorku.ca. 

If you have any questions regarding the abstract submission process, contact the Abstract Manager at billh@scolars.com

Sign up for WNCD23’s e-Newsletter to receive updates about abstract submission.

Common Reasons Abstracts Are Not Accepted for Presentation

Outlined below are common reasons why abstracts are not accepted:

• Subject matter is not appropriate or sufficiently aligned with the Congress themes or objectives
• The material in the presentation is not novel or may not be of significant interest to Congress participants
• Abstract is duplicative of other submissions
• Background is insufficient to help reviewers understand your objectives or the nature of the issue being addressed 
• The methods, design, perspectives or approaches are inadequate or insufficient to support your key conclusions, recommendations, or insights
• Summary of essential results, findings, recommendations and/or limitations is inadequate or absent
• Format does not follow guidelines or provide all the required information
• Submission is poorly written and difficult to understand