ABSTRACT SUBMISSION
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS
Care | Connect | Transform
Abstract submissions are invited that showcase the contribution of psychiatric and mental health nurses to improving care, strengthening connections and transforming mental health services.
Submissions should relate to one or more of the following dimensions:
Care – Advancing compassionate, person-centred, recovery-oriented and evidence-informed psychiatric nursing practice. Topics may include therapeutic relationships, clinical interventions, patient safety, physical health, recovery, trauma-informed care and support for families and carers.
Connect – Strengthening relationships between nurses, service users, families, multidisciplinary teams and communities. Abstracts may explore continuity of care, integrated services, community mental health nursing, peer and family involvement, inter professional collaboration and transitions between services.
Transform – Demonstrating how psychiatric nurses can lead and influence positive change. Topics may include nursing leadership, advanced practice, education and workforce development, quality improvement, research, digital innovation, service redesign and new models of mental health care.
Abstracts may present research, clinical practice developments, quality-improvement projects, educational initiatives, service innovations, leadership initiatives or lived-experience collaborations in which psychiatric and mental health nursing has a significant role.
Through Care, Connect, Transform, the conference aims to recognise psychiatric nurses not only as providers of care, but as therapeutic practitioners, leaders, educators, researchers and agents of change shaping the future of mental health services.
Contributions can be made in four different formats:
1. Concurrent session
20 minutes in length (including 5 minutes for questions)
2. Symposium
1 hour in length containing 2-3 papers on the same topic (including 15 minutes for questions)
3. Workshop
1 hour in length (including a collective examination of the topic and open discussions)
4. Poster
On the congress theme, topical developments, research and/or local issues of wider interest. Posters are presented digital.
In order to make an active contribution to the congress, you must submit an abstract, which should be structured as follows:
• Background
• Aim
• Methods
• Results
• Discussion
• Learning outcomes (Workshops only)
Please note: Abstracts for concurrent presentations, presentations submitted to symposia, workshops and posters should not exceed 4000 characters including blanks (excluding references and bibliography). For symposia, separate abstracts must be submitted for all individual contributions (min. 2, max. 3). Please make sure that the title of the symposium for which you are submitting your abstract is stated and that the individual presentations of the symposium are labelled with separate headings and that the other speakers of your symposium are named. The number of workshops and symposia is limited.
Closing date for extended abstract submission is the 1st of December 2026. Your submission will be reviewed by the scientific committee of the congress and you can expect to be notified of their decision by Mid December 2026. Within 2 weeks after notification you have to register to ensure inclusion of your presentation in the final program. Please make sure, that in symposia all 2-3 responsible presenters have to register individually for the congress. Please also note the payment deadlines after registration. Registration and full payment of the congress fee is a prerequisite for the presentation. This also applies to poster presentations.
Please note that we can only grant the first presenter of a contribution the discounted participant price (early bird price). As a rule, this is the person who submitted the abstract. Co-authors pay the regular registration fee if they have not already registered within the early bird rate period.
For symposia, all active presenters (max. 3) receive a reduced registration fee. In case you have any further questions about the abstract process, please do not hesitate to contact us at dubovcova@vssvalzbety.sk
We look forward to receiving your submissions!
Your congress team