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Call for Abstracts

This call is open October 1-23 at Noon PT.

We will be seeking abstracts for the State of the Science in Hospice & Palliative Care, March 20-22, 2020 in San Diego, CA.

Abstracts that have been submitted or presented at other meetings are welcome (previously published abstracts will not be re-published).

Research presented at the State of the Science will be directed towards an investigator audience and will include studies that span T0 (basic biomedical research) to T4 research categories. 

Authors are asked to consider both the impact of their proposed topic or research on diverse and underserved populations, its relevance to the diverse groups of attendees, address and describe issues of diversity and inclusion, as well as display case examples and presentations. 

Frequently Asked Questions

If I submit an abstract in July to the Annual Assembly call for Scientific and Quality Improvement Papers and Posters, will I know if it’s accepted before the call for abstracts for the State of the Science, October 1-23?
Yes. The notifications for Annual Assembly scientific and QI abstracts will be sent by early October. If you have an Annual Assembly abstract accepted, please note that you can still submit that abstract to the State of the Science.

What are the dates and times of the Annual Assembly and the State of the Science? How much do they overlap?

Annual Assembly, Wednesday, March 18 through Saturday, March 21

  • Wednesday
    • Preconference Workshops 8 am – 5 pm
    • Opening Reception 5:30-7:30 pm
  • Thursday 7 am through Saturday 2:30 pm: Education and Programs
  • Note: All scientific paper and poster presentations will be scheduled on Thursday and Friday; Researchers and those interested in research may attend and/or present at both meetings without missing any research content.


State of the Science, Friday, March 20 through Sunday, March 22

  • Friday 6-8 pm: Opening Reception (after Assembly education is complete on Friday)
  • Saturday 7 am through Sunday noon: Education and Programs
  • The only overlap/conflict between Annual Assembly and State of the Science is Saturday, 10 am through 2:30 pm.


Will the State of the Science symposium negatively impact the science that is presented at the Annual Assembly? 
The Committees planning each of these meetings are actively collaborating to ensure that the science presented at the Annual Assembly remains strong and gets even stronger. The number of scientific papers and posters accepted for presentation at Assembly will remain the same (175-200 abstracts) as in previous years. All of the scientific papers and posters will be presented on Thursday and Friday at the Annual Assembly.

The new State of the Science Plenary session on Saturday morning will bring together the Annual Assembly and research symposium attendees at the San Diego Convention Center. The plenary will feature the first authors of the three highest rated abstracts submitted for the State of the Science with James Tulsky, MD FACP FAAHPM serving as discussant.

What if I have completed a trial and I want the results to be used in clinical practice AND I want it to inform future research directions?
Your research should be submitted to both meetings. You would present the same findings at both meetings but framed for different audiences – clinicians (Assembly), scientific investigators (State of the Science)

We believe it is critical that science continue to be presented at Annual Assembly because it serves as the evidence base for clinical practice and policy. We also believe it is important that researchers have a forum where they can critically present and discuss how their findings impact what we know about a topical area and what it means for future research in this area.

  • For the Assembly audience, presented abstracts address the questions: What is the current clinical practice or policy? What was our research question? What methods were used to answer this research question and what did we find? What are the implications for clinical practice and/or policy going forward?
  • For the State of the Science audience, presented abstracts address the questions: What are the strength and limitations of the current paradigm or knowledge base of a particular topic? What was our research question? What methods were used to answer this research question and what were the findings? How do we situate and explain the findings in relation to the knowledge base as a whole and what future research is needed to extend this work?


How do I coach my mentees who are doing a research fellowship or are in a faculty track in research?
If the mentee’s career focus and professional learning objective is to develop as an investigator and they want to network with other researchers, then the State of the Science meeting will be a better fit.

If the mentee’s career focus is primarily to have their research impact practice, then Assembly is the best fit.

Why are the calls for abstract at different times?
Annual Assembly abstracts need to be submitted, reviewed, and selected by early fall. This provides registrants information about content that will be presented and allows the time needed to prepare the abstracts for publishing. As in previous years, between 175 and 200 scientific and QI papers and posters will be presented at the Assembly.

The State of the Science abstract call was set as close to the meeting dates as possible so that the latest science could be featured. It is expected that approximately 100 abstracts will be accepted for oral and poster presentation.

If I submit the same research to both meetings, may I change the first author for each submission?
Yes. For example, if you want a student or mentee to present, if accepted, at the Annual Assembly, the student would be listed as first author for that abstract. If, on the other hand, you are principal investigator and would like to present the research, if accepted, at the State of the Science, you would be listed as first author for that abstract.