DRIVERS 2025 will explore presentations relevant to rural medicine, such as:

• Research
• Quality improvement projects
• Innovative service delivery/patient perspectives
• Outcomes in rural and regional settings
• Translating research into clinical practice, practising evidence based medicine
• Digital health and technology
• Gap analysis/improving equity (from any aspect) Indigenous, Culturally and Racially Marginalised and, LGBTQIA+ populations, Remoteness, etc
• Clinical supervision and mentoring
• Future workforce
• Reflections on your training or workplace
• Reflections on your rural journey in medicine.

Streams

DRIVERS 2025 will encompass three presentation and poster streams. Please note that the timing for presentations is to be determined, based on the abstracts received:

Scientific presentations

Longer dynamic oral presentations, sharp rapid-fire presentations and a broad display of current regional scholarship

• Dynamic oral presentations
• Scientific poster:  A0 poster for display (this may involve the opportunity to present).

Reflective  presentations

Showcasing vision, innovation and excellence - for discussion of prior insights or activities relating to improving quality in rural and regional healthcare

• Reflective presentations incorporating question time
• Reflective poster: A0 poster for display (this may involve the opportunity to present).

Presenters must discuss prior insights or activities to develop more effective approaches and improve quality in regional health care. If non-evidence-based, presentations must be based on practising medicine in a rural or regional setting.

Case study  presentations

Talks delivering key clinical messages with lessons for rural and regional healthcare.

• Case study presentation
• Case study poster: A0 poster for display (this may involve the opportunity to present).

The DRIVERS scientific committee will allocate your abstract submission to present in the stream that it best fits.

Presentations may not have joint primary authors or presenters. DRIVERS only accepts one presenter per presentation. If co-authors wish to present, each author must apply separately and speak to a different aspect of the research. The Committee expects all abstract submissions to list other authors and affiliations of primary authors if relevant.

By submitting your abstract for consideration you agree to observe the specified slide and time limits and that you have appropriate consent and will manage the confidentiality of sensitive information presented.

The DRIVERS 2025 Scientific Committee will not review any Google Docs added to abstract submissions.

We suggest you consider using these templates for abstracts (based on DRIVERS Conference streams):

DESCRIPTIVE TITLE: (in BOLD and UPPERCASE)

AUTHORSHIP:

<Insert authors here.>

• Principal author to appear first.
• Underline the name of the author who will be presenting the paper
• All Authors must be listed by their surname followed by initials with no punctuation except commas between each name (do not use full stops or commas between surname and initials)
• Omit degrees and titles
• Include affiliations/organisation for each author. Use superscript numbering after the author’s name to indicate affiliations

Example: Smith B¹, Taylor W^1,2, Tran S³

¹ Australasian Society for HIV, Viral Hepatitis and Sexual Health Medicine, ² IUSTI, ³ The Kirby Institute

RESEARCH AND QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS

Background:

Including aim/objectives of the study.

Methods:

Including the study design and methods and a statement +/- ethics/QA approval.

Results:

Including a summary and some details that are linked to aim/objectives.

Conclusion:

Including the significance of contribution.

REFLECTIVE PRESENTATION

Setting:

Including summary description (can be de identified if required)

Why and how the learning occurred

Including the challenges and insights gained

Implications for learning and future practice

Including influence on future learning and career

CASE STUDY PRESENTATIONS

(also see the BMJ guidelines)

Background:

Including a summary of the prevalence of the condition

A statement that there is signed consent by patient/family member/next-of-kin

The case:

Including:

• Clinical and social presentation
• Relevant history
• Investigation/diagnosis/management

Discussion and learnings:

Challenges and implications for practice.

All abstracts will be peer-reviewed by the DRIVERS 2025 Scientific Committee.

Presenters are selected in a competitive manner, in response to abstracts submitted, based on the following criteria:

• Research or quality improvement project undertaken in a regional or rural setting
• Presenter currently working, living or studying in rural or regional Australia. Rurality defined as per Monash Modified Model as >/= MM2, and consideration of prior rural exposure / future rural intent.
• Projects specifically looking at healthcare for rural, regional or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander identification of presenters.
• Quality of the research/reflections/case study, and how engaging this will be for the audience

Each eligible application is assessed on a template using a scoring matrix. The assessment template and matrix together are a tool that enables the comparison and ranking of applications according to an agreed set of program priorities/outcomes and principles to be considered when determining who can present at the DRIVERS conference. The individual scores assigned by members of the Scientific Committee are tallied and an average created (to allow for people to step out if a conflict of interest is identified). In general, studies are not assigned to reviewers with conflicts of interest.

Reviewers will give equal weight to abstracts relating to work-in-progress and completed work (provided in-progress work is likely to be completed by the deadline).  The main focus of our peer review process is the extent to which submissions meet the criteria for quality, relevance and importance.

Selections will be made to create an interesting and engaging program of content to be presented at DRIVERS 2025. Conference organisers have the right to make selections based on delivering a well-balanced conference, including the number of contributions per presenting author and variation in themes, disciplines, institutions, and presenter background.

Other Points to Note

Conflict of interest

Scientific Committee members remain unbiased throughout the review process in regards to nationality, religious or political beliefs, gender, and other personal characteristics of the authors, origins of a manuscript and/or their professional affiliation, and score as directed with relation to the assessment matrix. Scientific Committee members declare and manage all potential competing, or conflicting interests.

Confidentiality

Scientific Committee members will respect the confidentiality of the process and will refrain from using information obtained during the review process for their own or another’s advantage, or to disadvantage or discredit others.

Accountability

Scientific Committee members do not delegate the authority to any other person in regards to reviewing the presenters submission, however all submissions will be made available to the Scientific and Steering Committee for viewing.

Virtual presentations

Virtual abstract presentation opportunities are available for those unable to travel; however, places are limited. Submissions will be evaluated by the Scientific Committee and allocated based on their overall score in the scoring matrix.