The mission of the International Confederation of Midwives is “to strengthen member associations and to advance the profession of midwifery globally by promoting autonomous midwives as the most appropriate caregivers for childbearing women and in keeping birth normal, in order to enhance the reproductive health of women, and the health of their newborn and their families”.

The Interim Scientific and Professional Programme Committee (SPPC) of the International Confederation of Midwives invites submission of abstracts that align with the congress theme and are relevant to midwives and the midwifery profession.

We are excited to return to a face-to-face format in 2023 under the theme “Together again from evidence to reality”. As this Call for Abstracts goes out the Covid Pandemic continues although many countries are relaxing restrictions and travel is opening up. This bodes well for our Congress, but we have made some changes to the programme to account for potential impacts of the pandemic.  The scientific programme will run over three days instead of four and we have reduced the number of daily concurrent sessions to 10. To give as many people as possible the opportunity to present within this smaller programme, we have removed Symposia and Special Topic Sessions. We are calling for abstracts for oral presentations, workshops, three-minute thesis sessions and posters. Sessions will be recorded and after the Congress concludes the recorded sessions will be available ‘on demand’ for participants who are unable to attend the Congress in Bali.

Following the launch of the new ICM Professional Framework for Midwifery in 2021 we are keen to receive abstracts that relate to one or more of the ten elements of the framework: 

1. Midwifery Philosophy
2. Essential Competencies for Midwifery Practice
3. Midwifery Education
4. Midwifery Regulation
5. Midwifery Associations
6. Research
7. Midwife-led continuity of care model of practice
8. Midwifery Leadership
9. Enabling Environment
10. Commitment to Gender Equality and Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

In addition to these areas, we are of course eager for abstracts on midwifery practice, including workshops to advance practical skills. We also look forward to receiving abstracts on the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on midwives, midwifery services and women.

We encourage you to submit your abstracts and join us in Bali in 2023 for the biggest gathering of midwives any of us will have seen for some years.

CATEGORIES OF PRESENTATIONS

Presentations will be in one of two categories:

• Sharing midwifery research results

or

•  Sharing midwifery knowledge and experience

Sharing midwifery research results

Abstracts for Oral Presentations, Three-minute Thesis/ Research/ Practice Innovation or Posters may be submitted that present empirical research. These should provide a brief background to the research; its purpose; ethical approval; method (including sampling issues, when data were collected, and approach to analysis); results; key messages for midwifery. Abstracts on research in progress must at least indicate preliminary results to be considered for acceptance.

Sharing midwifery knowledge and experience

Abstracts for Oral Presentations, Posters, Three-minute Thesis/ Research/ Practice Innovation and Skills Workshops may be submitted that share midwifery knowledge and experience. These may not necessarily be a research based abstract (but should provide available evidence). They could include midwifery stories and experiences, theoretical debates, or innovative/sustainable midwifery practices. Submitters should describe the practice and its relevance to midwifery. Presentations should include reference to supporting evidence if applicable.

FOCUS Areas

The focus of presentations will be one or more of the following:

• Midwifery Philosophy
• Essential Competencies for Midwifery Practice
• Midwifery Education
• Midwifery Regulation
• Midwifery Associations
• Research
• Midwife-led continuity of care model of practice
• Midwifery Leadership
• Enabling Environment
• Commitment to Gender Equality and Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
• Covid-19 Pandemic and its impact on midwives, midwifery services and women

The focus will be used to allocate abstracts to reviewers with appropriate expertise. To further assist with this allocation authors will be asked to indicate at least 1 or up to 3 keywords which best describe their abstract submission.

TYPES OF PRESENTATIONS

The four main types of presentations are:

• Oral Presentations
• Poster Presentations
• Skills Workshops
• Three-minute Thesis/Research/ Practice Innovation

Oral Presentations

Oral presentations are usually delivered by a single presenter in a timeslot of 15 minutes plus 5 minutes for discussion. Oral presentations can be on any topic relevant to the conference theme and will either be about research or sharing knowledge and experience (as described above).  The word limit for oral presentation abstracts is 300 words and must address the criteria outlined below.

Poster Presentations

Poster presentations are visual displays, usually combining text and graphics information. Posters may be on any topic relevant to the congress theme and will either be about research or sharing knowledge and experience (as described above).  The word limit for poster abstracts is 300 words.

 Posters will be displayed in the Exhibition Hall and for the duration of the Congress. It is expected that the presenter should be available at the poster for a designated hour to discuss it with congress participants. Specific information regarding size and mounting requirements will be provided with the notice of acceptance. Accepted posters must also be provided in an electronic format for those accessing sessions ‘on-demand’ after the conclusion of the face-to-face Congress.

Skills Workshops

Skills workshops are interactive sessions for a group of no more than 50 participants highlighting a clinical skill, new technology, active learning technique, self-help approach or programme approach. Skills workshops are either 45 minutes or 90 minutes.

Active demonstration techniques (i.e. demonstrating newborn resuscitation, managing postpartum hemorrhage, showing the use of a new model for insertion of a postpartum IUD, demonstrating a new technique for teaching a topic, demonstrating use of research methods, mindfulness, self-health etc.) are preferred over slide presentation and discussion. Sessions should be facilitated by two or more presenters to enable active engagement with participants. Presenters are expected to provide all equipment/materials required.

The individual wishing to lead a skills demonstration session should submit an abstract (maximum 300 words), which clearly describes the learning outcomes, the process/activity (including a description of how the audience will participate in the session), supporting references and name of sponsors if relevant. The abstract should include any specific requirements for interaction that will have an effect on the room layout and the numbers of participants who can be accommodated (i.e. equipment and room/ desk set up). The Workshop leader should indicate the preferred maximum number of participants.

Three-minute Thesis/Research/Practice innovation

The Three-Minute Thesis/ Research/ Practice Innovation format borrows from the “Three Minute Thesis” competition (https://threeminutethesis.uq.edu.au/ ). It aims to promote the communication of a research or practice innovation in a concise and compelling way.  Presenters will have three minutes to share their research or practice innovation demonstrating their ability to engage and inspire the audience and clearly describe the research or practice innovation whilst highlighting its significance to midwifery. Attendees will benefit from exposure to a wide range of topics, presented in a succinct but entertaining way. Examples from the Three Minute Thesis competition can be found at: https://vimeo.com/threeminutethesis

Potential presenters in this category are strongly advised to familiarise themselves with this format by viewing examples provided before submitting an abstract. The individual wishing to submit the three-minute thesis/research/ practice innovation should provide an abstract (300 words) which includes a description of the research or innovation and its significance to midwifery.

ABSTRACT REQUIREMENTS AND REVIEW CRITERIA

ABSTRACT REVIEW PROCESS

All abstracts will be subject to double-blind peer review by dedicated reviewers with expertise in one of the 11 focus fields.
The review criteria are outlined above. Where there is discrepancy between reviewer scores a moderation process will be initiated. Appeals will not be accepted.

Only one abstract per presenter (with the exception of 3-minute thesis/research/practice innovation) will be accepted if more than one submitted abstract meets the review criteria.

 Only one presentation on a single research project will be accepted if more than one submitted abstract meets the review criteria

 One exception will be for the Three-minute Thesis/research/practice innovation. Presenters may be accepted for the Three-minute thesis/research/practice innovation and one other presentation, poster or workshop. A single research project may be accepted for the Three-minute Thesis/research/practice innovation and one other presentation or poster.

The Scientific Professional Programme Committee reserves the right to change the theme to which an accepted abstract relates. In the event of very large numbers of submitted abstracts fulfilling the criteria a short list will be established to replace cancellations. Additionally, authors may be offered a poster.

ETHICS

All submitters of abstracts for “sharing midwifery research results” category must indicate if ethical approval was provided by a relevant authority. If not, an explanation must be provided.

PLAGIARISM

Copying work or ideas from someone else and presenting them as one’s own is plagiarism and is regarded by the conference organizers as serious professional misconduct. ICM trusts its attendees and recommends that if a presentation builds on the work of another, presenters ensure that they reference the intellectual property of others.

 PUBLICATION OF ABSTRACTS

All abstracts will be published on the ICM website

 SUBMISSION LANGUAGE

ICM´s official languages are English, French and Spanish. All abstracts are to be submitted in English to facilitate the peer review and moderation process.

If your first language is French or Spanish you may also upload a pdf version of your abstract in French or Spanish. Where possible your abstract will be reviewed by both English speaking and native speaking reviewers.

PRESENTATION LANGUAGE

You may have the opportunity to present in French and Spanish if your presentation is allocated to one of the venues that has translation facilities. Please indicate on your submission your preferred language for your presentation but note that English may be required if your preferred language does not have a dedicated venue

Participants from non-ICM language countries may have a dedicated room to present in their own language if numbers permit and prior approval is obtained from ICM.

DEADLINES

Presenter registration 

All participants whose papers are submitted for presentation are expected to register for attendance at the Congress. Please note that ICM 2023 is not in a position to offer complimentary registration to Presenters. Should you be accepted to present, you will be required to register and make payment thereof by 1 December 2022.

Submission instructions

Each abstract submitter must confirm that:

• the abstract is their own work
• it has not been published or presented elsewhere
• for research, ethical approval was obtained (explanation required if no ethical approval obtained)
• any external funding sources and conflicts of interests are disclosed
• they intend to participate physically at the congress 

Online Submission

Please visit www.midwives2023.org and follow the links to the abstract submission page.  Once here please complete the information as required.  You will note that all abstracts are to be submitted in a standard text format; therefore, no formatting will be visible. Your submission will automatically be limited to 300. Once you have entered all your submission details; click on the option at the bottom of the page to continue. You will be taken to a summary page where you may review and edit your details for one last time before submitting. You will be asked to accept the terms and conditions of the ICM and only then may you proceed. Once your abstract has been sent to us; you will receive a confirmation email.  Please ensure that the email address supplied during your submission is correct and operable as this address will be used for all future communication.

For detailed submission guidelines please click here.

Manual Submission

Should you not have access to the internet the SPPC has made provision for you to submit the abstract via fax or email. PLEASE NOTE: All abstracts submitted by either method must be typed and clearly legible. Handwritten submissions will not be accepted. In order to submit your abstract manually, please email / fax the document and your contact details to the Programme Secretariat at: email: abstracts@midwives2023.org ​fax: 00420 261 174 307. Once received, you will be sent a copy of the transcribed abstract to confirm that all details have been copied correctly.  Only once you have agreed that all details are correct will your abstract be submitted to the committee for review.

All accepted abstracts and authors’ confirmed contact details will be published in the congress programme after authors have registered to attend the congress.

If you have any queries, please email: abstracts@midwives2023.org