Abstract Information
The ISOQOL 32nd Annual Conference is an in-person event and by submitting an abstract for consideration, all presenters acknowledge that they are expected to travel to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA to present their research in-person. Hybrid/virtual options will not be offered at this meeting.
General Information
Abstract Note
In an effort to support the ISOQOL “Going Green” initiative, the final program will be available digitally on the mobile app to all conference attendees. A printed daily agenda will be available at the registration desk by request only. The abstract title, all contributing authors, and the entire abstract will still be published in the Quality of Life Research journal supplement. The digital journal supplement will be available online after the Annual Conference, by the end of November. Conference attendees will have early access to the abstract text via the mobile app. Thank you for supporting our environment-conscious efforts to go green.
Quality of Life Research Journal Abstract Supplement
Abstracts accepted for presentation will be included in the conference program and published in the Quality of Life Research Journal Abstract Supplement, so long as the presenter confirms their intent to present by 30 June 2025. Presenters who do not confirm by 30 June run the risk of not having their abstracts included in the conference program or the Abstract Supplement.
The Abstract Supplement will be available digitally to all annual conference registrants, by the end of November 2025.
Cancellation and Presenter Replacement
Presenting authors who are unable to present their oral, oral brief and/or poster presentations may elect to have one of their co-authors serve as presenter, provided the co-author has not exceeded the maximum number of presentations per person. All presentation cancellations and presenter changes must be received in writing before 11 August 2025 to conference@isoqol.org. Late cancellations or failure to present without prior notice may result in restrictions on abstract acceptance for future ISOQOL conferences.
Certificates of Presentation
Certificates of Presentation will be distributed electronically after the conference to all presenters.
Cancellation Policy
Attendees agree to waive any and all claims for damages or compensation resulting from or relating to the cancellation, postponement, renaming, relocation or rescheduling of the Event. ISOQOL may (at its sole discretion) change the format (including, without limitation, from a physical in-person Event to a virtual Event and vice versa), speakers, participants, content, venue location and program or any other aspect of the Event at any time and for any reason, whether or not due to a Force Majeure Event (any event or circumstance arising that is beyond the reasonable control of ISOQOL), in each case without liability.
Call for Reviewers
Call for Volunteers: Annual Conference Abstract Reviewers
Abstract reviewers serve a vital role in the scientific program planning process by ensuring the quality of educational content presented at the 2025 Annual Conference. Serving as a reviewer is an excellent way to build your resume, share your expertise, and support ISOQOL. The time commitment is low, but the impact is high!
All abstract reviewers receive a digital reviewer certificate, and a ribbon for their badge (if attending the conference in-person).
ISOQOL is seeking reviewers for all 2025 Annual Conference abstracts. The review periods are as follows:
- Symposium and Workshop abstracts: 3 February – 21 February 2025
- Oral, Oral Brief and Poster abstracts: 21 April – 16 May 2025
Volunteers may choose which presentation types they would like to review and indicate their area of expertise. Abstract review is completed through an online platform.
*All interested reviewers received a survey to indicate their area of expertise. If you are interested in becoming a reviewer and did not receive/complete the survey, please complete the form online here by 14 April 2025.
Important Dates*
*All deadlines end at 11:59 PM Central Time on the day of their deadline unless otherwise noted. This excludes registration deadlines, which end at 6:59 PM Central Time.
**All presenters must purchase registration by this date in order to have their abstract published and receive a scheduled time to present at the conference.
Submission Guidelines
The following guidelines apply to all abstract submissions for the 32nd Annual Conference. Click the links at the left for further guidelines specific to each abstract submission type.
Original Work: Each abstract should represent complete and original results. Submitting multiple abstracts based on the same data is not permitted. Research that has been presented or published prior to the time of abstract submission will not be considered for the ISOQOL Annual Conference.
Official Language: Abstracts must be submitted and presented in English, the official language of the ISOQOL Annual Conference.
Submission Method: Only electronic submissions will be considered for review.
Supported Browsers: Please use one of the following browsers to submit your abstract: Internet Explorer 11, Firefox (current version), Chrome (current version), Microsoft Edge, Apple Safari 11 and above.
Session Timeout: Inactivity of more than 120 minutes on the same page will result in a session time out. Please save your pages intermittently to avoid loss of data.
Sentence Case: Do not submit abstracts in all capital letters. Abstracts (including titles) should be submitted in sentence case.
Abstract Structure: Abstract submissions must be structured as follows: Aims, Methods, Results and Conclusion. All fields are mandatory.
Word Limit: Abstracts must be 350 words or fewer. Word count is calculated as the cumulative number of words in the four sections only. Abstract title and supporting graphs or figures are not included in the total word count.
Supporting Images: You may attach up to three (3) supporting images in JPG format. Please note that any files in a format other than JPG will be discarded as the publisher only accepts JPG format. Do not submit images of your abstract text. We will not include any of your supporting images if you submit more than three (3) maximum limit per abstract.
Remove Identifiers: Please remove any indicators of authors’ names throughout the abstract submission and uploads (if applicable), to ensure a true double-blind peer review process.
Proofread: The information provided in the submission will be published exactly as submitted. In some cases, special characters and formatting do not transfer if the abstract is pasted into the submission fields from a word processing program. Common examples of this include missing apostrophes, accent marks, ampersands, and trademark symbols. Proofread your submission carefully, and if needed, add these characters individually using keyboard shortcut “alt” codes. ISOQOL will not be responsible for incorrect symbols or special characters in your abstract.
Incomplete Submissions: Abstracts that are in draft form will not be considered for review.
Submission Edits: You may revisit the site up until the posted deadline to edit your submission.
Presenter Restrictions: A maximum of three* (3) abstracts may be selected by any one presenting author. Only two oral or oral brief presentations will be permitted per presenting author. An author may only contribute to the presentation of one symposium. While there is not a limit on the number of workshops one author can contribute to, for scheduling purposes it is recommended to contribute to no more than two workshop proposals.
Please direct technical support questions to conference@isoqol.org.
Oral, Brief, and Poster Submission Guidelines
Submissions open in March 2025.
Presentation Preference
When submitting an abstract, select all the presentation formats which you would like your research to be considered:
Oral Presentation
All oral sessions are 90 minutes and contain five individual presentations. Each presenter is allotted approximately 11 minutes to present their research immediately followed by five minutes to answer questions from the audience. The Session Chair will introduce each presenter prior to his presentation and facilitate discussion questions following the conclusion of each presentation. There is a maximum of 10 slides per oral presentation (including title and acknowledgement slides).
Oral Brief Presentation
Oral briefs offer the distinct opportunity to give a short verbal presentation in a group setting. An oral brief session includes up to 10 presenters. After a personal introduction by the moderator, each speaker has 7 minutes to present using five content slides (maximum) plus a title slide. While the rapid pace of oral briefs does not allow for audience Q&A within the session, presenters are encouraged to stay after the conclusion of the session to make themselves available for questions.
Poster Presentation
Poster presenters should prepare a three (3) minute presentation and be able to discuss their research with their peers. Presenters must stand in front of their posters during the allotted presentation time. Handouts relating to posters are welcome.
Primary Applications for Abstracts
Only one Primary Application can be selected per abstract. A description of the Primary Applications is noted below.
Theoretical Work
Abstracts in this category use theory to advance the understanding of HRQL phenomena. Such work might include novel efforts to explain known associations or relationships observed in the literature; modifications or extensions to theories that are routinely or historically used in HRQL research and applications; or applications of an established theory from another field to HRQL phenomena. Abstracts in this category should not be presenting new data (including qualitative or formative work) or meta-analyses, but may reference published data in support of a theory.
Methodological Work
Work in this category reports on qualitative or quantitative methods for developing and evaluating patient-reported health status, as well as methods for analyzing and interpreting scores from such measures of health assessments. While the work might feature a particular disease area or measure, the primary aim of the work is to present a method rather than present findings about a particular measure or population.
Application: Clinical Research
Abstracts in this category use patient-centered measures to better understand the nature, prevention, treatment, and management of different health conditions. Approaches used in this category could include qualitative or quantitative, randomized or non-randomized, cross-sectional or longitudinal, and meta-analyses.
Application: Clinical Care
Abstracts in this category include reports of efforts to integrate the patient’s voice more effectively into clinical encounters. Examples include descriptions of experiences implementing a standardized PRO collection system in a single clinic, reports of the development of a streamlined questionnaire battery for patients to complete prior to visits, and efforts to develop better reports for clinicians of patients’ PRO data over time. It is expected that abstracts in this category are more descriptive in nature with limited sample sizes. Larger and/or randomized studies should be categorized as Clinical Research.
Application: Policy
Abstracts in this category focus on issues relevant to the requirement, development, and large-scale (e.g., Health System, Government) application of patient-reported outcomes in health care practice, regulatory, and population/surveillance settings. Abstracts may include program evaluation, case studies, and economic analyses.
Secondary Applications for Abstracts
Select at least one Health Condition and one Population that best define(s) your abstract. A minimum of one and a maximum of two may be selected for each question.
Health Conditions
- Cancer
- Cardiology
- Endocrinology/Diabetes/Obesity
- Mental Health
- Musculoskeletal/Rheumatic
- Nephrology/Urology
- Neurological
- Rehabilitation
- Respiratory
- Other health condition
Populations
- Children and adolescents
- Older people
- Caregivers and relatives
- Cultural and ethnic minorities
- Vulnerable populations
- General population
- Other populations
Review Process
Oral, oral brief, and poster abstracts undergo a double blind peer review led by the Scientific Program Committee. To ensure that abstracts within each of the primary categories are fairly evaluated, abstract reviewers are asked to identify which primary and secondary categories reflect their areas of expertise.
Abstracts are evaluated based on the following criteria:
- Importance of the problem being addressed
- Innovation of the approach
- Rigor of the approach
- Clarity of the description of the work
- Potential impact of the work described
Abstract Acceptance Notification
Acceptance notifications will be sent to the presenting author listed on the abstract submission in mid-June. Presenting authors are responsible for communicating the presentation status of their abstract with their co-authors.
Accepted abstracts will be assigned to a specific session/presentation time. All presenters must use the online acceptance and disclosure form to confirm their intention to present by 30 June 2025 in order to be included in the conference program and have their abstract published in the Abstract Supplement. If you have not received a notification email by 16 June 2025 contact conference@isoqol.org.
Symposium Submission Guidelines
IMPORTANT: Are you submitting a symposium on behalf of a SIG? If yes, please note that the SIG Symposia submission process is separate from the general symposia and is not open to the general membership. Contact the SIG leaders or the ISOQOL office at conference@isoqol.org to inform them of your intent to submit a proposal for consideration and request submission information.
Symposium Submission Instructions
Symposia provide an opportunity for a comprehensive examination of a selected topic pertaining to health related quality of life research and patient-reported outcomes and are 75 minutes long. A symposium session can highlight emerging research or initiate discussion of policy issues.
Symposium Moderators
The online submission system requires the Symposium Moderator to submit the overall symposium synopsis, presentation format, funding source (if applicable) and names of individual presenting authors for the symposium. This can be completed at any point, regardless of when the presenters submit their supporting abstracts for the symposium. Moderators are responsible for ensuring all supporting abstracts are submitted into the system by the noted deadline. ISOQOL does not accept late submissions, and proposals missing supporting abstracts run the risk of not being considered for the Annual Conference.
Presenting Authors
Each presenting author must submit their own supporting abstract. The symposium abstracts will be grouped together based on the information entered in the “Symposium Title” field. It is imperative that the text in the “Symposium Title” field reads exactly the same across every submission within your symposium group. The Symposium Moderator is responsible to communicate the correct “Symposium Title” with the presenting authors.
If the symposium moderator is also a presenting author (submitting their own supporting abstract), this requires a second submission. Return to the Symposium Submission page, click “Add” for an additional symposium submission and follow the instructions for “presenter at the symposium”. Specifically, for the question “are you the symposium moderator”, you should indicate “no” since you are acting as a presenter at this time. All the abstracts for your symposium will be paired together by the matching information entered in the “Symposium Title” field.
Important: All supporting abstracts must include the following information: Aims, Methods, Results, and Conclusion for a combined word count of 350 or less.
Symposium Review Process
Symposium abstracts will undergo a double blind peer review led by the Symposium Selection Committee. Symposium abstracts will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
- Quality
- Relevance
- Originality
- Data Completeness
- Interest to Conference Attendees
Symposium Acceptance Notification
Submitting authors will be notified regarding the acceptance of their abstracts in early March 2025. Following receipt of this notification, all symposium moderators, discussants, panelists and speakers of selected symposia must complete the following to confirm acceptance as a presenter:
- Complete online acceptance and disclosure form to confirm their intent to present by 28 March 2025 to be included in the conference program
- Verify author information for publication
- Formally confirm their assigned presentation date and time
- Complete conflict of interest disclosure form
- Agree to the presenter policies and deadlines
- Purchase Annual Conference registration by the presenter registration deadline of 11 August 2025
- Attend the Annual Conference in-person and present at the assigned presentation date and time
Note: Accepted symposia will be scheduled for presentation on Friday, 24 October or Saturday, 25 October.
Resubmitting Declined Symposium Abstracts
In the event that a Symposium Abstract is not selected for presentation at the Annual Conference, the supporting abstracts can be re-submitted for consideration as an oral, oral brief or poster presentation at the Annual Conference. Abstracts must be re-submitted to the oral, oral brief, and poster abstract submission category (opening in March 2025) in order to be eligible for selection for presentation in this category.
SIG Symposia*
*Please note this is separate from the traditional symposia offered during the Annual Conference program. Only SIGs may submit proposals for presentation during the educational SIG symposia sessions offered on the pre-conference day (Wednesday, 22 October 2025).
ISOQOL offers 90-minute time slots on the pre-conference day for educational symposia hosted by a Special Interest Group, referred to as SIG Symposia. Submissions must come directly from SIG leaders on behalf of the SIG. If you are a SIG member with a potential topic for a SIG Symposium, contact your SIG leadership team to submit a proposal.
Groups may only submit one proposal for consideration as either a general symposium OR a SIG Symposium. Proposals will not be considered for both categories simultaneously.
SIG Symposium Acceptance Notification
Submitting authors will be notified regarding the acceptance of their abstracts in early March 2025. Upon receipt of the notification, all SIG Symposium organizers, speakers, moderators, discussants, and panelists of selected SIG Symposia must complete the following to confirm acceptance as a presenter:
- Complete online acceptance and disclosure form by 28 March 2025
- verify author information for publication
- formally confirm their assigned presentation date and time
- complete conflict of interest disclosure form
- agree to the presenter policies and deadlines
- Participate in the group planning calls with ISOQOL staff before the in-person presentation
- Purchase Annual Conference registration by 11 August 2025
- Attend the Annual Conference in-person and present at the assigned presentation date and time
Workshop Submission Guidelines
Workshop Proposal Instructions
Workshop proposals should include:
- A short description of the lead organizer’s background and experience in the topic (do not include identifiers)
- Up to three measurable learning objectives (150 word limit for each objective)
Workshop Content
Workshop proposals include the following sections for a combined maximum of 350 words:
- Workshop goals
- Intended audience
- Presentation format
- Workshop overview/outline
Workshop content should be original work of educational benefit to workshop attendees. ISOQOL policy prohibits the use of workshops as a platform for presenters to conduct research for personal advancement or to market a product.
Workshop Presenters
The number of workshop presenters (maximum 5) should be disclosed at the time of proposal submission and due to the peer review and committee selection process, the presenters must not be altered after a workshop is selected. A presenter who is no longer able to travel to the conference location must notify the ISOQOL Office immediately. To ensure the content of the workshop will not be affected, another workshop organizer can present on their behalf, or the group can propose a replacement for consideration by the Scientific Program Committee. Recordings or live presentations are not allowed.
Workshop Review Process
Workshop proposals will undergo a double-blind peer review led by the Workshop Selection Committee. Workshop proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
- Quality of the proposed workshop
- Clarity of workshop’s goals and objectives
- Innovation of workshop (new topic/approach)
- Level of interest to conference attendees
- Anticipated audience
Workshop Acceptance Notification
Submitting authors will be notified regarding the acceptance of their proposal in early March 2025. All speakers of selected workshops must complete the following to confirm their acceptance as a workshop presenter:
- Complete online acceptance and disclosure form to confirm their intent to present by 28 March 2025 to be included in the conference program
- Verify author information for publication
- Formally confirm their assigned presentation date and time
- Complete conflict of interest disclosure form
- Agree to the presenter policies and deadlines
- Purchase Annual Conference registration by the presenter registration deadline of 11 August 2025
- Attend the Annual Conference in-person and present at the assigned presentation date and time
Note: Accepted workshops will be scheduled for presentation on Wednesday, 22 October 2025.
Thank You to Past Sponsors
The International Society for Quality of Life Research (ISOQOL) is a global community of researchers, clinicians, health care professionals, industry professionals, consultants, and patient research partners advancing health related quality of life research (HRQL).
Together, we are creating a future in which patient perspective is integral to health research, care and policy.