Call for Abstracts

The theme for the ACMHN 2024 conference is Mental Health Nursing – Advancing Equity, Access, and Diversity and recognises we must consider how mental health services provide care to all people in our diverse communities. To do this, we need to nurture and build a workforce and service that is inclusive and representative of all cultures, genders, identities, and abilities

Racism and stigma are ongoing experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health nurses and people who access mental health care. Stigma is also evident for many as LGBTQI+ people, people who use substances and people with cognitive disability are often excluded from mental health services. 

We encourage mental health nurses to reflect on how inclusive we are as professionals and as leaders and consider if our current models of practice and service provision provide accessible and equitable care to all persons. Services models must create safety and value lived experience of consumers to allow them to fully participate in their treatment decisions without facing judgement or fear. 

Mental health nurses have the capacity and obligation to support all individuals and communities. However, we must grow a diverse workforce who are prepared to provide equitable care, stop racism, and address stigma. 

The conference will showcase the unique contributions of mental health nurses and provide an environment for lively collegial discussion of the challenges and solutions for building the necessary workforce for, and providing mental health care to, our diverse communities.

Oration Booklet
Abstract book

Before submitting your abstract

 Familiarise yourself with the conference themes and presentation types (listed below)

  Prepare a 350-word abstract, abstract aims and learning objectives and save in an easily accessible place. Your abstract submission will be completed via a text box only, so we recommend you have your abstract content ready to 'copy and paste' into the portal 

  Create an account in the call for abstracts portal, and follow the instructions to submit your abstract. Abstracts can be saved as a draft, but must be finalised in order to be assessed for inclusion in the program 

  You may submit more than one proposal under the same account.

Abstract themes

The theme for the conference is Mental Health Nursing – Advancing Equity, Access, and Diversity and considers how mental health services provide care to all people in our diverse communities. To do this, we need to nurture and build a workforce that is inclusive and representative of all cultures, genders, identities, and abilities. 


Theme

Sub-theme

Contemporary practice issues

Gender diversity
LGBTIQ+ mental health
Services for people with intellectual disability and brain injury
Trauma informed care approaches
Addressing physical health in all mental health settings
Collaborating with peer workforce
Successful application of E-health and digital mental health
Mental health response to natural disasters
Suicide prevention
Psychotherapeutic approaches
Practicing in the NDIS environment
Co-design and co-production
Dissemination and adoption of research findings
First Nation mental health perspectives

Clinical specialties

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health
Cognitive disability and mental health
Immigrant and asylum seeker mental health
consultation liaison Emergency mental health
Primary mental health care
Child and Adolescent mental health
Perinatal and Infant mental health
Older persons mental health
Justice and forensic mental health
Addictions
Community mental health
School mental health
Mental health nursing in government
Private practice

Eliminating Restrictive Interventions

Working toward elimination
Early detection and prevention of workplace aggression & violence
Reducing compulsory treatment

Mental Health Nurse Education

Post-graduate education including research higher degrees
Development of new entry pathways for mental health nurses
Frameworks from graduation to credentialing
Advancing the practice of Nurse Practitioners

Potential for Mental Health Nursing Practice

Addressing gaps in access and equitable service delivery
Veteran, Defence and First Responder mental health
Engaging with the media
Engaging governments and mental health policy

Professional issues

Clinical supervision
Workplace mental health and wellbeing
Leadership and management

Recruitment and Retention into Mental Health Nursing

Building Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health nursing workforce
Developing career pathways into mental health nursing for all nurses (LGBTQI+, neurodiverse, and nurses with disabilities)
Identifying and developing emerging leaders
Student experience and innovative clinical placement
Addressing stigma and racism in the workforce

Presentation types

If you would like to put your abstract forward for an award, please make sure to read the abstract award criteria to ensure that your selected presentation type is appropriate.

Type

Time allocated

Details

Oral presentation

20mins + 5mins Q&A

May be more than one speaker.
No additional time will be allocated.
Presentations may be based around (but not limited to): research findings, case studies, industry trend exploration, demonstration of best practice, new strategies, etc.

Poster presentation

N/A

A visual and interactive display of your work as per your abstract.
Posters will be on display for the entire duration of the conference.


                     

Abstract review process

The ACMHN uses a blind review process for all abstract submissions to present at the International Mental Health Nursing Conference and strives to include high quality research and clinical papers. This process is overseen by the Scientific Chair. 

All abstracts satisfying the basic requirements will be subject to a blind review by at least two independent reviewers, who will have no knowledge of the name of the author/s or of the other reviewer/s. Members of the ACMHN Board are not eligible to participate in the review process. 

Reviewers apply a simple set of criteria to each abstract, which are then given a numerical ranking. Abstracts are then tabulated according to their numerical ranking and submission date i.e. abstracts which attract the same ranking are then ordered according to the date of submission, with contributions submitted first, listed first. Offers are made to presenters from the highest ranking abstract down, and a program is developed.

Where a presenter is not able to participate, or withdraws their abstract from the program, an offer is made to the next presenter down the list to take their place in the program. 

Presenters are advised that the ACMHN International Mental Health Nursing Conference provides delegates with a program that reflects and leads contemporary mental health nursing practice. As such, all abstracts are to be presented using appropriate terminology for people who experience mental health issues. Terms such as 'mentally ill people', 'the mentally ill' and 'case/subject' and 'the mentally ill case' are not accepted. Rather, descriptors should be person-centered, such as 'people/person who experience XYZ', 'consumer', 'service user', 'person with disability, gender diverse, sexually diverse', 'person with a lived experience' or 'client'. Abstracts which do not meet this criteria will not be eligible for review.

Submitting your abstract

All abstracts must be submitted via the call for abstracts portal. Follow the below steps to submit your abstract:

  1. Prepare a 350-word abstract and save in an easily accessible place. Your submission will be completed via a text box only, so we recommend you have your abstract content ready to 'copy and paste' into the portal. Your 350-word abstract should cover:
    • The content of the presentation
    • Key issues explored
    • Who should attend the presentation and why
  2. Prepare a 100-word presentation summary in plain English (non-scientific).
  3. Prepare an additional 2-3 learning objectives and aims of your abstract, explaining the key points delegates will take away from your session
  4. Click SUBMIT ABSTRACT at the top of this page and create an account in the call for abstract portal. Note, you will need to create a new account for the 2024 conference (your 2023 conference account is no longer active)
  5. Follow further instructions in the portal to complete your abstract submission
  6. You will receive a confirmation email once your abstract is submitted for review
  7. Abstract's may be saved as a draft, to be finished at a later date, but it must be finalised in order to be considered in the review
  8. You may submit more than one abstract all under the same account.

For a successful abstract, you should highlight something new, innovative and thought provoking and the format encourages discussion and active participation amongst delegates. Your speakers should be engaging, informative and confident.

If your abstract is accepted you must agree to register and pay the Early Bird Registration price.

Abstract submission closes Sunday 14 April 2024.

Guidelines

  • Online submission is the only method of abstract submission
  • Submissions can be saved as Draft in the abstract portal but must be finalised to be considered
  • Abstracts submitted for presentation will be published exactly as received and should be checked for spelling and grammar prior to submission
  • You may submit more than one abstract all under the same account
  • Abstracts will only be accepted as 350-word text format abstracts. We recommend writing your abstract in Word and saving to your desktop prior to starting the submission process, then 'copy and paste' the abstract content into the relevant section of the abstract
  • All presentations should be primarily in English. If English is not the first language of speakers/projects please provide details on how you will provide access for delegates (i.e., translator, subtitles…). If you need assistance with this, please contact the Program Committee
  • All speakers must attend and present the conference in person
  • It is the responsibility of the presenter/author to ensure that the abstract is submitted correctly. For assistance with submissions, contact acmhn@conlog.com.au.
  • It is the responsibility of the presenter/author to ensure their abstract explains how it relates to the themes
  • Where there is more than one presenter all correspondence will be sent to the person who submitted the abstract
  • Every effort will be made to accommodate the presenter/author presentation preference however the Program Committee reserves the right to allocate the presentation to best suit the program
  • The invitation to submit an abstract does not constitute an offer to pay travel, accommodation or registration costs associated with the conference. Similarly, no presenter fee is paid to successful presenters
  • If your abstract is accepted, all speakers agree to register and pay the Early Bird registration price. 

Four delegates gather for a photo.

Conference delegates listening to the speaker.


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We acknowledge the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who are Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia, and we particularly acknowledge the Ngunnawal people as the traditional owners and custodians of land on which the College National Office stands. We recognise the important connection of First Peoples to land, water and community, and pay respect to Elders past, present and emerging.