Roundtable Proposals 2016

Roundtable Submission Deadline

We are soliciting presenters for Roundtable breakout sessions at the 2016 HIV Diagnostics Conference. The Roundtable format is intended to promote in-depth discussion and feedback on a particular topic.  Brief oral presentations will be used to introduce the session topic and stimulate discussion.  The following roundtable topics have been suggested by the conference organizers, but other topics may be submitted for consideration.

1. Successes/challenges for laboratories/programs implementing the recommended HIV diagnostic laboratory algorithm
2. Issues related to reporting of laboratory results to requestors and surveillance and approaches to resolving them (examples include efforts to link multiple test results from the same individual when using the recommended algorithm).
3. Laboratory collaborations with program and other stakeholders to improve early detection of HIV infection, and to enhance disease surveillance, public health intervention and linkage to HIV medical care. (examples could  include using viral load data to determine who is in care)

Roundtable Session Format:

Each Roundtable Session will consist of 1 to 3 conceptually linked presentations designed to introduce the topic and raise one or two open questions followed by a discussion session.   The session will be 1 hour in duration. A total of 15 minutes will be allotted for presentations and the remaining 45 minutes will be devoted to the discussion component.  Each roundtable will be moderated by a person chosen by the conference committee.  The Moderator or a designee will summarize the highpoints of the discussion for all conference attendees in a subsequent session.

Roundtable Proposal Structure:

Title – Provide a title of your presentation. This title will appear in the conference program.

Abstract – 350 words or less. Abstract may be unstructured but should include:

• Brief introduction to provide background on the topic being addressed
• A description of pertinent issues or specific aspects of the session topic that your presentation will address.
• Relevant experiences, tools, lessons or models that will be highlighted in your presentation.
• Data and/or outcomes to accompany the descriptive narrative, where applicable.

Proposed presentations will be reviewed by the conference organizing committee and either accepted, rejected or offered an alternative presentation format.

Roundtable Presentation materials:

Presenters of accepted roundtables are asked to create a handout for their presentation and submit it for review by the conference organizing committee. Roundtable handouts will be included in electronic conference materials sent out to participants prior to the conference and can be either an outline document or a mini-poster format. Handouts are intended to support the short presentation and facilitate discussion. Presenters may receive feedback on their handout from the organizing committee. The feedback procedure is meant as an opportunity for improvement, not as a tool to judge the topic being presented (as the proposal has already been accepted). More information about handouts, as well as the deadline for their submission will be sent in the presentation acceptance email.

Scoring Roundtable Proposals:

Each abstract will be reviewed and scored based on the following criteria: all criteria will be given equal weight as has been done for previous conferences.

• Pertinence:  The topic is consistent with the abstract category.
• Importance:  The abstract contains relevant, innovative, or new findings.
• Methodology: The study design meets the abstract objective, and the quality of reported data is acceptable