How do I submit my poster? The process is fully automated and easy to follow.
What to do if I need more details on how to submit?
What are the criteria to ensure my poster acceptance?
A Scientific Advisory Committee will independently grade the posters and assign a score to each entry. The reviewers rank your submission using best practice criteria below.
Innovation & Originality: The extent to which the project makes an original and important contribution to quality and safety improvements in healthcare. New question for improvement and/or innovative solutions
Significance and benefit to system or patients: The relevance of the project or program to innovation, quality improvement, education or research achieved, along with whether the conclusions are substantiated by relevant data. The authors present evidence of explicit benefit of their interventions to their health system or patients.
Relevance: The extent to which the topic addresses the selected category or theme.
Presentation quality and clarity of message: The author(s) was clear in stating the goals, interventions and conclusions. The abstract should be presented in a clear, concise, and well-structured way, with proper use of language and a title that reflects the contents of the story as well as the appropriate use of tables and other graphics.
Sustainability: A clear sustainability plan for the improvement efforts should be mentioned where appropriate.
Would my poster be rejected? Why?
Submissions may be rejected by the reviewers for the following reasons:
Not appropriate: The content was not relevant to the conference themes.
Not complete: The content was insufficient or unclear to qualify for acceptance.
Results appeared implausible or unsubstantiated
How my poster should look like?
You can select any template that you wish as long as it fits the criteria of a quality improvement poster and the design criteria are respected. Below are some recommendations:
MAKE IT VISUAL! Use clear and impressive charts
Consider ways to present your points with more than words. Examples include drawings, photographs, charts, graphs, and x-rays.
ARRANGEMENT: The poster should have a definite sense of direction and should match the logical flow of information. Your poster should generally read from left to right, following the outline. Use lines, frames, contrasting colors, or arrows to call attention to important points.
LETTERING: Select a clean, simple letter font/style and use it consistently throughout the poster. Less words (Font Arial, body 10-12 titles 14-20) the smallest letters should be at least ¼” tall (18 point) and easy to read. Use both upper and lower case letters (do not use all capital letters) especially in body copy.
COLORS: Light background, Black fonts. Aim to use no more than 4 colors. Color can help to highlight sections or point out similarities and differences but too many colors can detract from the main message.
AVOID CLUTTER: Communicate enough information so that viewers understand your work but avoid unnecessary details that may confuse the message.
Overcrowding is a problem with poster design. While accuracy is important, your poster should stimulate interest rather than provide complete details.
What is the content that I should respect in my poster?
Aim (preferably preceded by background or Problem statement)
Clearly defined Aim Statement; including expected change in outcome indicator and time to expected change in the outcome indicator
SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant & Time-bound)
Interventions: (Change ideas and Evidence of Process Improvement)
Indication of the changes made to achieve improvement in the targeted process.
Indication that changes were tested and/or adapted to the local environment/organization
Education ALONE is not an intervention.
A minimum of 1 PDSA (Plan Do Study Act methodology)
Graph
Reflecting the project’s Key Performance Indicator (KPI)
Annotated, (including but not limited to graph title, axis titles, noting interventions, central line, goal, and footnotes)
Data over time (Run chart or Control charts are most preferred)
Updated (data charted are last updated 3 months before submission), Demonstrating sustainability in improvement indicated by the data
A minimum of 3 data points before and after intervention
Measured outcome
Clearly defined multiple measures used to understand and show improvement in the target process
Outcome measures: even if no change in long term outcome yet, measures on it have to be noted and the evidence of baseline assessment of such measures is available early on
Process +/- balance measures
Improvement team:
Consider a multi-disciplinary team to achieve improvement (subject matter experts, patients, leadership, etc. )
What if my submission is successful?
If your submission is successful, you will receive an email by Thursday, 1 February 2018.
Four authors, in addition to the primary one, will be able to receive the discounted poster rate.
One author at least to be available to discuss the poster with attendees at designated times.
Who should I contact for advice?
If you have any questions or need assistance, please email Dr. Khawla Ahmad – ME Forum 2018 Poster Program Manager –
kathamneh@hamad.qa
