Call for abstracts
Submission deadline: 3 October 2024
Submission guidelines
Please read this information carefully before proceeding to the online submission form

Submission process:
Apply on the congress website: https://wp2025.world.physio/abstracts/

Important dates
Submission opens

20 June 2024

Support programme

20 June-16 September 2024

Submission deadline

3 October 2024

Notification of outcome

January 2025

Abstracts
Abstracts are invited that:•report on the latest research with original scientific data [this includes systematic/narrative reviews
and meta-analyses]; special interest reports and case studies can be submitted, submissions withpending results and study protocols will not be accepted•

address new and unique developments in practice, theory, education, management, policy, andresources•

describe innovative ways in which established methods have been adapted to meet the changing
needs of practice.

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Presentation format
Abstracts are presented either as a platform or poster presentation. Only platform presentations will berecorded.
All platform and uploaded poster presentations will be available after the congress in Tokyo, on-demandthrough the congress platform.
All poster presenters and platform speakers are required to attend the congress in person.
Platform presentations
Each platform presentation is scheduled for eight minutes plus two minutes for questions.
Posters••

Printed poster presentations are grouped by topic within the poster area. Authors have adesignated presentation time during the lunch break onsite for discussion with participants. The
area available to display printed posters will limit the number of printed posters that can beaccommodated.
ePoster presentations will be scheduled in the programme and grouped by topic. The session
chair will lead discussions between the audience and speakers. Speakers are given five minutes todiscuss their ePoster with participants, using electronic screens. The area/space available forelectronic screens will limit the number of ePosters that can be accommodated.

Important, please note: platform and poster presentations are considered by the congress programmecommittee (CPC) to be of equal standing and judged by the same criteria. While submitters may indicate
their preferred format of platform presentation, printed poster presentation or ePoster presentation, theCPC will assign abstracts to sessions. There are many more requests for platform presentations than canbe accommodated in the programme. Therefore, submitters requesting a platform presentation that cannot
be accommodated will be offered the option of a poster presentation, where there is more space and plentyof opportunity to interact with participants.
The decision of what format to assign to any abstract rests with the CPC.

Selection criteria
Submitted abstracts will go through a blind peer-review process carried out by international reviewers.
The following principles will be used to review abstracts:
1.
2.
3.
4.

does the report address a "significant" or "important" issue?
do the methods/approach enable the question to be answered rigorously?
have the data/findings been interpreted appropriately?
are the contents of the abstract clear and logical?

Submission guidelines
All correspondence will be with the person who submits the abstract online. The presenting author
does not have to be the first named author listed in the abstract and will be identified through thesubmission process.
The online submission form will provide space (limited by characters) for data entry, the available word
count is indicated below.
You will be asked to provide the following:
1. Title of abstract [maximum 20 words].

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2. Completed abstract [maximum 500 words]. Abstracts will be included in the congress proceedings andmust be structured using the headings below.
HeadingNotes

1. Background:

What was the context for the study/project? Why was it important that thisproject was undertaken?

2. Purpose:

What was the major reason for undertaking the project? (A project may be a
research study, developing a new or adapted programme, method, theory, orresource). Any secondary objectives?

3. Methods:

What principles, methods/methodological approaches, materials did the projectinvolve?

4. Results:

Summarise the main findings from the analysis

5. Conclusion(s):What can be concluded from the study? What are the suggestions for futurework?

6. Implications:

What are the implications of the project and how will the results be translated
into physiotherapy practice/management/education/policy
No images, tables or graphs are permitted.

3. Keywords: use up to three words to describe your work which are supplementary to the programme
topic(s)4. Funding acknowledgements: please acknowledge all funding sources that supported your work. If thework was unfunded, please state this [maximum 20 words]
5. Primary topic [mandatory] second and third topics [optional]
6. Ethics approval [see general information point 11 below]: evidence that ethics approval was given isrequired. Please name the institution and ethics committee that approved your work or advised youthat it was not required. Provide the ethical approval number or state the reasons why ethics approval
was not required.
When submitting your abstract, you will be asked "Did this work require ethics approval?". If no, you will
be asked for details of the institution and ethics committee that advised you ethics approval was not
required and the reasons. You will be asked to upload supporting evidence.
Ethical approval is unlikely to have been required if your work:•••

addresses new and unique developments in practice, theory, education, management, policy,and resources
describes innovative ways in which established methods have been adapted to meet thechanging needs of practice
is a systematic or narrative review.

The Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences (CIOMS) in collaboration with theWorld Health Organization has developed the ‘international ethical guidelines for health-related
research involving humans’ which provide examples of exemptions from review (see page 90)
https://cioms.ch/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/WEB-CIOMS-EthicalGuidelines.pdf
In these cases, please state N/A for institution and ethics committee, and complete the reason ethics
approval was not required, giving as much detail as possible [500 words]

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7. Speaker details and biography of presenting author [200 words].
8. Co-author details.
9. Information concerning any presentations or publications of the work made prior to congress [50words].
10. Preferred presentation format.

General information
1. The congress language is English, and all proposals and presentations must be made in English.
Translation will not be provided. However, we will use artificial intelligence tools to make presentationsas accessible as possible.
2. A written abstract in English must be submitted for each proposed presentation.
3. It is the author’s responsibility to submit a correct abstract. Any errors in spelling, grammar or scientificfact will be reproduced as typed by the author.
4. The topics selected will be used to inform the review, selection, and programming processes. Pleasechoose the topics(s) that best describe the subject of your abstract that will attract the right audience tointeract with you.
5. A person can only present a maximum of two abstracts. They may be named as the presenting author
on multiple submissions but will only be permitted to be confirmed as the presenting author on twoaccepted abstracts. Changes to the presenting author on accepted abstracts will be permitted. They
may be named on other abstracts as a co-author. This excludes any submissions made and accepted
as part of the call for focused symposia.
6. Only one presenting author per paper is permitted. Only an author may present the abstract. If noauthor is available onsite, the abstract will be withdrawn. Any changes to the presenting author must be
notified directly to World Physiotherapy. Changes will be incorporated into the final programme if there
is sufficient time, but thereafter no further changes will be reflected in the programme.
7. Notification of outcome will be sent to the submitter. Please note that only the person who submits theabstract will receive correspondence concerning the abstract and is responsible for informing all
authors of the status of the abstract.
8. All presentations must describe original work to which all the authors listed have made a significant
contribution. Any reference to personal experience should be clearly labelled as such.
9. All proposals and presentations must adhere to the use of “people-first” language. A person must not
be referred to by disability or condition, and terms that could be considered biased or discriminatory in
any way should be removed (eg “person with a stroke” instead of “stroke patients”). See:
www.disabilityisnatural.com/people-first-language.html for more information and examples.
10. Any source of funding or support for the work being presented should be acknowledged.
11. All presentations including research on humans (patients, carers, students, faculty, staff, colleagues) oranimals must provide evidence that the research was carried out ethically (ie ethics committee

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approval, informed consent by subjects). To check that your research complies with ethical principles,
please visit https://bit.ly/49r5Mly 1. See also the global international standards 2
The CPC expects the research to have been conducted in accordance with international principles.
12. Each abstract submission must indicate if the material has been or will be published, in any format, orpresented at another national or international meeting prior to the World Physiotherapy Congress 2025.
Abstracts will only be considered if they are unlikely to have reached a wider international
physiotherapy audience in their previous presentation or publication, and if the authors takeresponsibility for providing any copyright clearance needed for inclusion in the congress proceedings orother congress publications.
13. The author presenting the paper must register to attend the congress in-person and be available toparticipate in the programme at the time scheduled.
14. The scheduling of all presentations will be determined by the CPC to ensure best fit with the overall
congress programme. Any requests for specific dates and times will not be considered. Similar
abstracts in related topic areas will be grouped together for presentation.
15. PowerPoint presentation will be available in all congress rooms.
16. You agree to upload a PDF of an ePoster accepted for presentation so that it can be added to the ondemand content available post-congress.
17. There will be no display area provided for professional resource materials, including computer-based
programs, materials, and audio-visual resource presentations. It is expected that any resources ormaterials will have been designed/developed by the author(s) and must not currently be for salecommercially by the author(s) or another vendor. If featured, they must be included in the standard
PowerPoint presentation or ePoster format.
18. Platform presentations will be recorded. Any recordings of PowerPoint presentations, or copies ofePosters made available online will be in PDF format; original PowerPoint files will not be published.
Consent will be sought through the submission system.
19. Presentations are not permitted to market new products, equipment, or organisations, or use thepresentation time to challenge or criticise competitors’ products.
20. Presenting authors only will receive a certificate of presentation.
21. All presentations during the congress must include the same content and follow the same outline as
described in the submitted and accepted abstract. Exceptions will only be allowed with written
permission of the chair of the CPC.
22. In keeping with World Physiotherapy policy, no honorarium, fee, or payment of expenses will be paid tospeakers.
23. All decisions of the CPC are final.

With thanks to Julius Sim, University of Keele, UK, for permission to use this document.
Declaration of Helsinki of the World Medical Association (2013) and the Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences’(CIOMS) International Ethical Guidelines for Biomedical Research Involving Human Subjects published in collaboration with the World
Health Organization (2106). CIOMS and International Council for Laboratory Animal Science (2012) International Guiding Principlesfor Biomedical Research Involving Animals.
125Consent and permissions
In submitting an abstract you must confirm that:•you accept responsibility for the accuracy of the submitted abstract and understand that thecontent cannot be modified or corrected after the submission deadline and that it will be
published exactly as submitted•

all co-authors are aware of and agree to the content of the abstract and support the data presented•

all speakers have agreed to participate at congress, should the proposal be accepted forpresentation, and take responsibility for their own travel, accommodation, and registration costs•

you accept responsibility as the contact person for all correspondence about the abstract and toshare information with all authors about its status•

you consent to the session being recorded and made available by World Physiotherapy•

you have secured any copyright/permissions clearance required relating to any previous
presentations, equipment, or other material for inclusion in the World Physiotherapy congress, its
proceedings or other congress publications•

for all studies (including service evaluations and audits) involving human participants or animal
subjects, permission has been obtained from the relevant ethics committee, where applicable, andproperly informed consent given, where appropriate, both for the work completed and the intent topresent•

anyone who is identifiable in the abstract and presentation has given their consent to be included•

the work is original, except for extracts from copyrighted works used with permission from thecopyright holders, and it does not infringe upon any copyright, proprietary, or personal right of any
third party•

you have identified any potential conflicts of interest eg financial interest in products or processes
described in the abstract, stock ownership, membership on an advisory board or board of directors,
or other substantive relationships

Copyright
On behalf of any and all co-authors, the submitter will confirm the:•consent to have authors’ names, affiliations and biographical materials used in connection with thepublication of your work.

•content belongs to the author(s). However, if the abstract is accepted the submitter agrees, onbehalf of all co-authors, to transfer and assign to World Physiotherapy free of charge, on a nonexclusive basis, the rights to edit, publish, reproduce, reformat, distribute in whole or in part theabstract and prepare all type of derivative works. These works may include press releases,
recordings, and/or educational products, using all communication tools and means, now known or
hereinafter developed, including any and all analogue and digital means and any and all supports
or forms of media, now known or hereinafter developed. This includes use in indexes or searchdatabases in print, electronic, or other media.

•author(s) retain the right, after presentation, to subsequently include the work in articles, books, orderivative works that they author or edit, provided said use does not imply the endorsement ofWorld Physiotherapy.

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the author(s) will retain copyright of their abstract. However, the author shall only reuse, reproduce
or post the abstract with acknowledgment to the initial and first publication or presentation at a
World Physiotherapy Congress 2025 event, and therefore reference the name of the World
Physiotherapy event and the date.

Good research practice when using generative AI
World Physiotherapy and the congress programme committee support the transparent and responsible useof generative artificial intelligence (AI) in research.
We expect abstract submitters to abide by the key principles set out by the European Commission’s Living
guidelines on the responsible use of generative AI in research.
•Reliability in ensuring the quality of research, reflected in the design, methodology, analysis anduse of resources. This includes aspects related to verifying and reproducing the information
produced by the AI for research. It also involves being aware of possible equality and nondiscrimination issues in relation to bias and inaccuracies.

•Honesty in developing, carrying out, reviewing, reporting and communicating on researchtransparently, fairly, thoroughly and impartially. This principle includes disclosing that generative AI
has been used.

•Respect for colleagues, research participants, research subjects, society, ecosystems, culturalheritage and the environment. Responsible use of generative AI should take into account thelimitations of the technology, its environmental impact and its societal effects (bias, diversity, nondiscrimination, fairness and prevention of harm). This includes the proper management ofinformation, respect for privacy, confidentiality and intellectual property rights, and proper citation.

•Accountability for the research from idea to publication, for its management and organisation, fortraining, supervision and mentoring, and for its wider societal impacts. This includes responsibility
for all output a researcher produces, underpinned by the notion of human agency and oversight.

When completing the online submission process the submitter will be asked to confirm that the presenting
author has read and understood the general information and the requirements they are expected to fulfil.

Support for abstract submitters
Support programme
All abstract submitters are encouraged to use local and national research support resources and networks
where available.
World Physiotherapy has a support programme in place from 20 June to 16 September 2024. The goal of
the support programme is to help the author present their material clearly and concisely before submitting
the abstract to the formal abstract review process. The programme may be particularly helpful for those:•••

who do not have local/national research support networks
where English is not the first languagewith little experience of abstract submissions.

Feedback will be provided, with advice on ways that the presentation and language used could beenhanced, in time to make changes and submit before the deadline on 3 October 2024. It is the author’s

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responsibility to submit the abstract and follow the call for abstracts guidelines. Abstracts will beanonymised when shared with supporters.
It is important to note that this process is entirely separate from the formal abstract submission and review
process. Requesting assistance and gaining feedback from this process does not guarantee that anabstract will be accepted for presentation at World Physiotherapy Congress 2025.
How to participate in the support programme
Authors should prepare their abstract according to the submission guidelines and forward it to the supportprogramme coordinator at abstractsupport@world.physio.
In your request for support please indicate which of these areas you would like feedback on:•••

English language
abstract structure
all aspects of the submission

You will also be asked to indicate if you would like to be introduced to the person who provides yoursupport after the programme has closed.
Drop-in sessions
In addition to the support programme, World Physiotherapy will host informal drop-in sessions whereparticipants will be able to ask questions live to CPC members Emer McGowan, Georg Supp, and Sam
Chidi Ibeneme. Please register for the dates and times listed below. Drop-in sessions may be recorded forinternal evaluation purposes only and will not be made available publicly.
10 September 2024 09:00 UTC. Register here
11 September 2024 18:00 UTC. Register here
19 September 2024 18:00 UTC. Register here
26 September 2024 09:00 UTC. Register here8