IGS 70th Annual and Scientific Meeting, September 2023

The Galmont Hotel, Galway

28th September 2023- 30th September 2023
Galmont Hotel, Galway

We are pleased to announce details of our 2023 Annual and Scientific Meeting.  Our academic partners for this event are the University of Galway and Saolta University Health Care Group.

The theme of this years conference is:   “Looking to the Years Ahead: Europe’s fastest growing older population.” 

Key note speakers will include:

  • Professor Russell Foster"Circadian Rhythms, Sleep, Ageing and Health"   
  • Professor Martin O'Donnell "Measuring Healthy Ageing in International Studies"

  • Professor Rose Galvin“No place like home: Exploring safe and appropriate alternative care pathways for older adults seeking emergency care”
  • Willie Bermingham Lecture: Professor Shaun O'Keeffe:  "Age Against the Machine? Ethics, the law and older people"  

Willie Bermingham Lecture

Professor Shaun O'Keeffe

Willie Bermingham Lecture 2023

Professor Shaun O'Keeffe MD FRCPI

Professor Shaun O'Keeffe graduated from University College Dublin in 1985. He trained in Internal and Geriatric Medicine in Galway, Dublin, Boston and Liverpool.  He was Consultant Geriatrician in St Michael’s and St Vincent’s Hospitals from 1996, moving to Galway University Hospitals in 2000.  He is co-chair of the HSE National Consent Policy revision group, the HSE Assisted Decision Making (Capacity) Act implementation group and the HSE DNAR Policy revision group.  Research interests include cognitive impairment, sleep disturbance, dysphagia and ethical issues in the care of older people.  

IGS Timetable and List of presentations

Call for abstracts

The Irish Gerontological Society is delighted to announce that the Annual and Scientific Meeting 2023 will be taking place on 28th-30th of September. IGS members are invited to submit abstracts for poster, platform presentations or symposia. Successful abstracts will be published in Age and Ageing.

We invite participation from clinicians, practitioners, academics, researchers and students working in all fields of ageing. Both quantitative and qualitative research submissions are encouraged covering all spectrums of ageing: social, psychology, biology of ageing, health, and that address multi-disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives on ageing. 

Abstract submission will open on Wednesday 1st March.

The closing date for abstract submissions has been extended to MIDNIGHT on MONDAY 5th June.

Details of abstracts submitted to previous IGS Scientific Meetings (2005-2022) are available on the searchable IGS Database of Abstracts in Gerontology.  

Submit Abstract

Enquiries to Dr. Adam Dyer or Dr. Catriona Reddin, Hon Secretaries Email: secretary@irishgerontology.com

Please circulate this information to any colleagues to whom it may be of interest.

IGS abstract submission guidelines

Follow instructions carefully as failure to do so may result in work not accepted. 

PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE AN IGS MEMBER TO SUBMIT AN ABSTRACT

IMPORTANT DATES

  • Deadline for submissions – Monday 5th June at Midnight

  • Authors notified – July

  • IGS is not responsible for editing of abstracts

  • No abstracts will be accepted after Monday 5th of June

 INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMISSION

  • Do not submit an abstract on behalf of a co-author. 

  • Include abstract reference number and title in ALL correspondence to IGS. 

  • The email address of the submitter of the abstract will be the default email address for all correspondence from IGS. This cannot be changed to an alternative email following submission.

  • Inclusion of a primary email address and phone number is mandatory.

  • Please identify if your submission is:
    • Research: addresses a primary research question with the aim of generating new knowledge or replicating existing findings 
    • Audit/Quality Improvement: evaluates current practice against established standards and guidelines, to identify areas for improvement and implementing changes to achieve best practice 
    • Service Evaluation: describes or assesses current characteristics/practices/pathways in a service
  • At the time of submission of your abstract, if you are an undergraduate student or a student in a graduate entry programme and are the primary author, you may choose to enter your submission for the IGS Student Award 2023 (Dr. John Fleetwood award). Proof of student card will be required for registration. Further student information can be found here

Abstract 

  • Title – maximum 20 words and body of text maximum 300 words. 

  • Title - Capitalise the first letter of each word.  No full stop at the end.

  • Abstracts are divided into four inbuilt headings - Background, Method, Results and Conclusion. Do not include additional subheadings.

  • Do not include identifiers such as Connolly Hospital or CHO 5, names of people, institutions or geographical areas in your abstract to ensure that your abstract is blind reviewed.

  • The use of the word “elderly” is prohibited in the title and body of abstract. Inclusion of this word will result in automatic rejection of work.

  • A maximum of two references can be included as part of the 300 word count.

  • No tables, boxes, columns, diagrams or appendices should be included.

  • Authors may edit their abstracts online until the submission deadline.

  • Use the correct official title (e.g. Mater Misericordiae University Hospital not ‘Mater Hospital’. University of Galway not ‘Galway University’).

  • Duplicate abstracts will be identified by reviewers and rejected.

  • Text should be single spaced.

  • Symbols used must be written in full, for example “beta” instead of β.

  • Abbreviations must be spelled out in full on first use.

  • Proposed study/protocol for study: A proposed study or protocol for a study or research due to be undertaken are not accepted by IGS.

  • It is the author’s responsibility to submit a correct abstract; accepted abstracts will be reproduced as submitted including possible errors. 

  • “Results to be presented” is not acceptable and will be automatically rejected.

  • One abstract per presenting author will be accepted for platform presentation.

  • Any queries should be directed to secretary@irishgerontology.com
     

Reasons that your abstract may not be accepted

  • Subject matter is not appropriate to IGS

  • Study population does not include older adults

  • Abstract is a duplicate of other submissions

  • Abstract is poorly written and difficult to understand

  • Background, Methods, Results and Conclusion is not summarised adequately  

  • Additional subheadings included 

  • Statistical evaluation is inadequate or absent

  • Results pending at time of submission

  • Abstract is incomplete on the submission 

Review and outcome

  • All abstracts will be independently reviewed by a minimum of 2 reviewers.
  • You will be notified of the outcome via email.
  • Presentation categories are as follows:
    • Platform presentations
    • Quickfire poster presentation
    • Poster presentation
  • Top scoring abstracts will be offered platform presentation (unless submitting author has specified a preference for poster presentation).
  • The top 300 abstracts will be guaranteed abstract publication in Age and Ageing. If submissions exceeds 300 accepted abstracts the decision to publish >300 abstracts will be at the discretion of the executive committee who will consider the number of submissions and the quality of submissions.
  • All abstracts which are unfortunately rejected will receive reviewer feedback.