Call for abstracts

The Oevaru conference is a mental health conference hosted by the National Centre for Mental Health (NCMH) of IGMH (Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital), Maldives. This innovative research conference will be the first of its kind in Maldives, welcoming both local and international clinicians, academics, researchers, students, public health specialists, policy makers and people with lived experiences of mental illnesses, to share their research findings to bring mental health to the forefront of public discourse and dialogue.
On behalf of the Scientific Programme Committee, we are delighted to invite you to submit abstracts for your presentations at our conference “Oevaru 2023: Changing Currents: Forming Connections” in Maldives, October 15-16, 2023.  We are keen to receive submissions that reflect the breadth of our diverse mental health community and the intended audience of this conference.

The theme of Oevaru 2023 is “Changing Currents: Forming Connections”. This conference is an opportunity to strengthen our relationships based on a shared understanding of what mental health means in our context; the cultural and systemic changes affecting it; and what needs to happen to transform our system to be more connected, equitable, and sustainable. Accordingly, our theme of forming connections amidst change also emphasizes the interrelatedness of connectedness and well-being. Whilst that is the main theme of our conference we encourage delegates to submit abstracts related to our four interdisciplinary themes.

We will consider TWO types of submissions, oral paper presentations and poster presentations. All authors submitting an abstract should read the submission guidelines and ensure it meets all requirements before submitting an abstract. Abstracts accepted for presentation will be published in the conference proceedings. For any urgent inquiries please email cmh@igmh.gov.mv

IMPORTANT DEADLINES
17th August  - Abstract Submission Deadline (has been extended from original date of 31st July 2023)
30th August - Authors notified on selection
30 September - Conference Registration Deadline
14 October - Pre-conference workshops
15-16 October - Conference Dates

We look forward to receiving your abstracts and meeting you in October 2023.

Thank you,
Oevaru 2023 Scientific Committee

Please refer to and follow the abstract template to help with your submission and ensure that it has all the required information.

And please ensure that all abstract submission guidelines are followed.

Click to download Abstract Template

Click to download Abstract Submission Guidelines

Click to download this call for abstracts as a PDF

CONFERENCE SUB-THEMES

Holistic care of mental disorders across the lifespan
[Multidisciplinary treatment approaches in different settings, COVID-19 and mental health, Crisis and trauma related topics, Addiction and recovery, Cultural & Religious aspects of treatment, Lived experiences of patients and carers]

Mental health prevention, promotion, and the continuum of care
[Mental health systems. Mental health supports in the community, Parenting Programmes, Anti-bullying strategies, Mental health stigma reduction and awareness, Social cohesion, Family Violence, Child Protection]

Innovations in mental health
[Novel medication approaches, digitalizing mental health systems and service delivery, Generating evidence, Mental health models of care in small island nations, Climate change and mental health]

Investing in mental health
[Mental Health advocacy, Empowerment of individuals and communities investing in cost-effective interventions, investing in capacity building for mental health, Investing in workforce mental health programmes, Mental health in national and global health security]

Submit abstracts:

    Your abstract should be a PDF or Word document less than 1MB. Your abstract must follow the template provided, briefly explain the salient points of your paper and should not be longer than 500 words.