Guidelines for Abstract Submission

Hints and tips for abstract writing

To give your abstract the best chance of being selected for oral or poster presentation, consider the following when preparing your submission:

• Link to the conference theme – Think about how your work connects to this year’s conference theme.
• Highlight relevance – Make clear why your project or research matters to the wider public health system and who it benefits.
• Bring behavioural science to the forefront – Show how ideas, methods or insights from behavioural or social science shaped your work.
• Share impact and learning – Where possible, outline the difference your work has made, or the lessons that could inform future practice.
• Write clearly and concisely – Use accessible language and keep within the word limit (maximum 250 words).

What can I submit?

To ensure a balance between academic research and applied behavioural science work, we invite submissions in two separate tracks.

i. Practical Applications of Behavioural Science

For projects where behavioural science has been applied in real-world settings, this can include but not limited to:

• Behavioural insights used to inform policy, service design, programmes, interventions, or organisational change
• Case studies, pilots, prototypes, or works in progress
• Descriptive, conceptual, or methodological work that demonstrates the use of behavioural science in practice

Submissions may include learning from implementation, challenges encountered, decision-making processes, and insights gained - even when formal evaluation data are limited or still being collected.

Abstracts should be a maximum of 250 words, and include:

1. The purpose of the project - what was the problem to be solved?
2. Intervention / implementation – what did you do?
3. Impact / learning – what happened or what did you find out?
4. Next steps – how will your project progress or inform future work?

ii. Research Projects

For projects where systematic or scientific methods have been used to generate or evaluate evidence on behavioural determinants, interventions, or outcomes. This includes:

• Quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-methods studies
• Experimental studies, trials, evaluations (including pre-/post-designs)
• Longitudinal or cross-sectional studies
• Theory development or testing of behavioural frameworks or mechanisms

Submissions should focus on research aims, methods, findings, and implications for policy, practice, or future research.

Abstracts should be a maximum of 250 words, and include:

1. Aim of the research - what question were you trying to answer?
2. Methods – what did you do?
3. Results – what did you find out?
4. Conclusions – this should include implications for practice

Each track is equally valued. Abstracts will be reviewed using criteria appropriate to the type of work submitted. If unsure which track to select, please contact us at conference@bsphn.org.uk

Symposia

We will also consider proposals for symposiums on a specific topic. A symposium must have a total duration of one hour, and be introduced and moderated by a session chair who will be responsible for keeping the speakers and session to time, and managing audience questions.

We suggest the following formats:

• multiple presentations on different aspects of the same topic (e.g. four 15-minute presentations)
• multiple presentations followed by a panel discussion based on questions from the audience, or an independent discussant.

To submit a symposium, one lead author must submit an outline of the session, and each presentation must have its own abstract following the guidance set out above.