Abstract Submission Information

The CSAM-SMCA 2023 Annual Scientific Conference brings together researchers, leaders, educators and clinicians in addiction medicine. This conference offers the opportunity to share your work with colleagues from across Canada and around the world. Our theme for 2023 is Caring in Crisis, and we seek abstracts that speak to the many meanings of our theme for addiction medicine.
We encourage abstracts about:
- Providing treatment and care during the opioid epidemic and/or the COVID-19 pandemic;
- Strategies to address the toxicity of unregulated opioids, at local, provincial, public health and policy levels;
- Nurturing ourselves and supporting our teams to prevent burnout and remain compassionate while providing addiction medicine care;
- New research in the understanding or treatment (pharmacological and/or psychological) of substance use disorders and behavioural addictions;
- Workshops that will help attendees learn a specific psychotherapy modality or skill, that focus on health care practitioner wellness and resilience, or skills in advocacy;
- New use of technology in addiction care including virtual care, AI, digital therapeutics, leveraging EMRs and using technology to enhance traditional face-to-face care;
- Abstracts about under-represented groups, vulnerable populations, and the social determinants of health;
- All substance use disorders and behavioural addictions including opioids, alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, stimulants, gambling and gaming.
Our objective is to present new scientific research and best practices in addiction medicine, promote evidence-based care, and encourage the sharing of diverse perspectives on addiction treatment and recovery.
The conference will be held in person in Victoria, B.C., Oct. 19-21, 2023. A selection of the presentations will be recorded live and made available for on-demand viewing following the in-person event to make our conference accessible to as many people as possible.
Submission Deadline is Sunday, April 30, 2023.
Please review the abstract types carefully, to determine what type of presentation best fits the information you want to share. Authors are required to present in person in Victoria (except for digital-only poster presentations) and must pay the registration fee. Some presentations will be recorded live for on-demand viewing in the conference platform after the live event.
Symposium
A symposium is a 60-120 minute session designed to give conference attendees an in-depth understanding of a specific clinical or scientific topic. Symposia are organized by small groups and should include between three and six related presentations by members of the group. A complete submission needs to include a “Symposium Overview,” abstract and a separate abstract for EACH presentation in the symposium. List the title of the Symposium Overview for EACH abstract submitted as part of the symposium. A symposium must allocate 25 percent of the session time to questions and answers, as required in CME guidelines. Symposia will be presented in person in Victoria, and may be recorded for on-demand viewing at a later date.
Workshop
A workshop is a 60, 90 or 120 minute session intended to give attendees new skills and understanding. Workshop presenters are encouraged to use interactive and experiential teaching formats such as small group discussions, case examples, demonstrations, interactive polls and other skill-building exercises. The plan for the workshop should be described in the abstract. The number of participants in each workshop will be limited to facilitate skill-building and active participation by attendees. Workshops will not be video recorded. Lectures submitted as workshops will be declined.
Oral Presentation
Oral presentations are concise presentations about a research project, new clinical program, educational initiative or other project in addiction medicine. Lead authors will have 15 minutes to describe their project accompanied by visual aids (slides), followed by five minutes of questions. Abstracts will be grouped together and delivered in moderated Oral Presentation Sessions. These will be in-person presentations, delivered live during the conference and may be recorded for the on-demand conference materials. Please note that a project or report may only be submitted for one type of presentation: oral, poster or digital poster.
Poster Presentation
A Poster presentation is a visual summary of a research project, new clinical program, educational initiative, or other project or proposal in the field of addiction medicine.. Submissions from trainees are encouraged. Posters may be presented in person, digitally only, or both. Lead Authors will prepare a printed poster to be mounted and displayed during the poster session, describing the project (we suggest organizing the poster with Introduction, Methods, Results and Conclusions, although other written formats are acceptable). Lead authors are expected to attend the poster session in person to discuss their work with conference attendees. Bulletin board size for each poster will be approximately 4 x 4 feet (approximately 1.2 x 1.2m) and mounting materials will be provided. Lead Authors of Poster Presentations may ALSO share their poster in the virtual conference, either by sharing the poster in digital form, or by providing a pre-recorded five-minute video describing the project for on-demand viewing using up to 12 slides. Posters by trainees will be evaluated, with an award for the Best Poster by a Trainee. Please note that a project or report may only be submitted for one type of presentation: oral, poster or digital poster.
TED-Style Talk
A TED-Style Talk is an opportunity to present a great, well-formed idea in under 18 minutes, followed by five minutes of questions. TED-Style talks are focused on the power of ideas to change lives and, ultimately, the world. These talks are generally delivered without notes, although we will allow presenters to have some basic outline notes on cards or a computer during their presentation. These are NOT spontaneous presentations, they are scripted and carefully rehearsed! Powerpoint slides are limited to only absolutely essential illustrations, traditional slides that summarize content are not allowed.TED-Style talks focus on you and your presentation–the slides only complement your ideas, they do not repeat your words.
- TED-Style talks are personal. The only reason to give a TED talk is that you feel passionately about something, and your sense of purpose creates an energy boost for both you and your audience.
- TED talks often take us on a journey. As the speaker shares their transition from ignorance to understanding of some important truth, we follow along in their footsteps.
- TED talks are concise. With only 18 minutes, speakers need to cut out any extraneous ideas so that every word counts.
The abstract for a TED-Style talk should be a SUMMARY of your presentation, not a description of what you plan to talk about. TED-Style talks may be recorded live at the conference for the on-demand event. A coach will contact each author selected for a TED-style talk to support their preparations to present at the conference. Last year the TED-style talks were well-received and the most talked-about sessions at the conference!
Storytelling Talk
Stories are an important way to share wisdom and build community. Tell us about a person, event, journey or experience related to addiction to share insights and build understanding. Authors of abstracts selected for this session will have 10 minutes to tell us a story. No audiovisual aids are allowed, and memorizing your story is encouraged.
Invited Presentation
Please select this presentation type ONLY if you have been invited by the CSAM-SMCA conference co-chairs to give a presentation.
- Lead authors must agree to follow the CSAM-SMCA guidelines for abstracts before submitting an abstract.
- A signed Conflict of Interest form for EVERY author must be uploaded with the abstract submission. Abstracts without the disclosure statements will be declined. Disclosure Slide: a disclosure slide is required for each oral presentation. Having a financial disclosure will NOT preclude the acceptance of an abstract.
- After submitting an abstract, the submitter will receive a confirmation email. If you do not receive the confirmation email within 24 hours, please contact .
- Publication: Select conference abstracts may be published in the Canadian Journal of Addiction.
- CSAM-SMCA has permission to use the abstracts submitted, accepted and the presentations of these abstracts for educational and marketing purposes.
- Abstracts included in the conference proceedings will be available through the conference app.
- Abstracts accepted for in-person presentation MUST be delivered in person.
- Digital posters will be uploaded to the conference app before the conference starts, so that attendees can watch and engage with authors during the conference.
- Presentations that are recorded during the conference will be uploaded to the app when available for on-demand viewing.Please do not submit an abstract if you are not confident that you will be able to give the presentation. Cancellations impose a serious burden on the development of the conference program and may negatively impact the overall quality of the program. If extenuating circumstances prevent the attendance of a presenter, please notify as soon as possible so the presentation can be removed from the program.
- Decisions regarding abstracts will be completed by May 16, 2023.
- Abstracts that are accepted:
- Acceptance emails will be sent by June 9, 2023 to the submitter.
- Once the submitter has accepted to present, they will receive an email with the date and time of their presentation by July 17, 2023.
- All presenters must register for the conference and pay the registration fee before their presentation is finalized in the program
- Abstracts that are not accepted:
- The submitter will receive an email.
- Decisions of the Conference Committee are final.
Thank you for your interest in contributing to the CSAM-SMCA 2023 Annual Scientific Conference. Please review the following submission instructions carefully.
- Abstracts on all aspects of addiction are welcome; abstracts that reflect the theme of the conference, Caring in Crisis are encouraged.
- The objectives for the abstracts at the conference are to:
- present new scientific research;
- present best practices in addiction medicine;
- promote evidence-based treatments, care and interventions;
- present original, new work based on the latest evidence and data;
- encourage sharing of diverse perspectives;
- engage and build community.
- To submit an abstract you must first enter the title and category of abstract, add all the authors, enter the abstract text and related fields, and finally review the information before it can be submitted. Only complete abstracts can be submitted.
- Abstracts will be evaluated by members of the Scientific Conference Committee. Decisions of the Scientific Conference Committee are final.
- Please use non-stigmatizing language, generic pharmaceutical names, and a minimum of abbreviations.
- Abstracts can be submitted in English or French. Abstracts must present material in a clear manner with grammar and spelling of a quality suitable for publication. Presentations will be in the language of the abstract. Translation services are not available.
- Abstracts and presentations must be free of commercial bias and cannot be used to advertise or advocate for a specific commercial interest.
- Correspondence will only be with the submitter, who must notify any co-authors. The Scientific Conference Committee is not responsible for notification emails not received due to incorrect contact information.
We look forward to receiving your submission!