Abstract guidance and how to submit

1. Abstract guidance 

Word count: Maximum 300 words (strict limit; does not include the four required section headings; does not include title; does not include the additional required information laid out below).

Required sections: Background (whose content should make clear the context and aim); methods; findings; and interpretation.

Title requirements: Please include a non-declaratory title with a study descriptor, e.g. retrospective cohort study, randomised controlled trial.

Additional required information (within the manuscript, not included in word count): 

• Abstracts must not include references, tables, or figures.
• All authors: names, titles, highest degrees, and affiliations.
• Corresponding author, and (if different) presenting author: please indicate clearly which author is which, and include their postal and email address.
• Funding: any funding received; please also state if none.
• Brief summary of each author’s contributions. See the CRediT taxonomy if you are unsure of potential domains of contribution.
• Authors must declare any competing interests; please also state if none.
• Early Career Researchers (ECRs): if the presenting author is an ECR (pre­PhD researcher (eg, MSc student, foundation year trainee, research assistant, public health trainee, or academic clinical fellow), PhD student, or postdoctoral trainee (eg, clinical lecturer, clinician scientist fellow, early career post­doc, or equivalent posts)), please state this and include their position. This can simply be a sentence below the author information along the lines of “Jane Doe is an ECR.” or any other clear indicator of ECR status.
• Authors with lived experience: any author that has made a substantial contribution to the researcher and also has lived/living experience this should be indicated. This can simply be a sentence below the author information along the lines of “Jane Doe has lived/living experience.” or any other clear indicator of lived/living experience status.
• The main purpose of the cover letter text is to help editorial staff at The Lancet identify submissions to this particular conference. The cover letter can therefore be very brief so long as it clearly indicates your submission is intended for the UK Public Health Science conference. It does not need to be anywhere near as comprehensive as a cover letter for a full journal article submission.

Please read The Lancet’s abstract guidance, available on their website. Abstracts should be written in a Word document. Any abstracts that are not correctly formatted will be rejected without peer review. Reports of randomised controlled trials should follow the CONSORT extension for abstracts guidance. 

Abstracts should not have been previously published elsewhere and must include some results (results of ongoing analyses are acceptable). 

All abstracts will be considered for oral and poster presentations. Abstracts that are accepted after peer review will be published online by The Lancet. 

2. How to submit 

Abstract submission is through The Lancet’s online submission system. 

Abstracts should be written in a Microsoft Word document, and be accompanied by a covering letter. Please state in your covering letter that the submission is for the UK Public Health Science Conference 2023.

A step-by-step guide through the submission process

1. Log in to the submission system as an author. You will need to create an account if you do not already have one.
2. Select ‘submit new manuscript’.
3. Select article type: at the bottom of the page, select ‘Conference Abstracts”.
4. Attach files: Upload your manuscript as a word file. Please make sure this has all the required information, including whether the presenter is an ECR, any authors have lived/living experience, and contact details for both the corresponding and presenting authors (if different). 
5. All authors are required to complete and sign the author statement form (for The Lancet weekly journal) and conflict of interest (COI) form. Please upload these with your submission. 
6. General information – Region of origin: select the relevant country.
7. Additional information – Questionnaire: Fill out the information in the ‘general information section’. Maximum word count for abstracts is 300 words.
8. Comments – Enter comments: Copy and paste your covering letter into the comments box. Please state that you are submitting an abstract for the UK Public Health Science Conference 2023.
9. Manuscript data: This section should be automatically populated with the information from your uploaded manuscript, but please review it carefully, and amend where necessary. 
10. ‘Build PDF for approval’, review it and then submit!