ABSTRACT GUIDELINES

1. Delegates wishing to present Oral or e-Poster presentations are invited to submit a short summary for consideration. Results must be clearly presented in the abstract and no late abstracts will be accepted.
2. Abstract submissions to be submitted online by 24 June 2026.
3. The Congress Scientific Committee reserves the right to select Oral and e-Posters for presentation.
4. Abstracts received will be acknowledged and notification of acceptance or rejection will be by email by 1 July 2026 (Results Communicated).
5. All presenting authors are requested to fully register for the congress by 15 July 2026  
6. Please read the submission requirements carefully as abstracts submitted will not be changed later. Should your abstract not be accepted and you are, thus, unable to be released to attend Congress, a full refund shall be provided.
7. Potential or Perceived Conflict of Interest: If the research is funded (partially or fully) by a proprietary organisation, a statement to that effect must be included at the bottom of the abstract.
8. Please note that no more than three submissions will be allowed per presenter due to possible programme limitations.

We would like to especially invite and encourage registrars to submit abstracts for the different SASA prizes. Please note the specific rules and formats for the registrar competitions.

Submission Themes

1.  Registrars Prizes (Click here to download Rules)

• The Gaisford Harrison Prize for original research
• The SASA Prize for Communications Skills
• Registrar e-Poster Prize 

2.  Original Research Prizes

• The SSEM Mthembu Medical Research prize for Best Original Research Free Paper (Click here to download rules)
• The Viatris Clinical Excellence Award for the Best e-Poster for Clinical Research (Click here to download rules)

3.  SASA General Programme (Free Paper Category)

• All other entries for Oral Presentations and e-Posters that are not competing for prizes 

4.  Nursing Presentations (Click here to download Rules)

• The SASA Prize for Best Practical Peri-Anaesthetic Nursing presentation
• The SASA Nurse Prize for Communication Skills

Instructions to Submit an Abstract

1.  Abstract Sign In: Please sign into the Abstract Portal with your account email address and password.

    If you have not yet submitted a presentation, please create a new account. The presenting author

    needs to create the account as results will be sent to the account holder as well as all communication.

2.  Contact Information: Complete the information required on the Contact Information tab.

Instructions to Author

3.  Title & Presentation Type: 

• Insert the full title of the proposed presentation. Title should not exceed 30 words.
• Preferred format of presentation (Oral or e-Poster)

4.  Theme: 

• Choose category you wish to submit under

5.  Authors & Affiliations:

• Author(s) Affiliation
• Abstract Authors(s)
• The name of the presenting author must appear first in the list of authors
• Presenting Author Biograph

6.  Abstract Upload:

• Abstracts must be typed in English and a special character keyboard is available
• The body of the text must not exceed 300 words

The abstract must adhere to the following format: 

(Not required for Registrar/Nurses Communications Prizes or general category of Practical Peri-anaesthetic Nursing Prize)

• Introduction: should be brief and informative and state the aim of the study
• Methods: include description of subjects and research methodology;
• Results: outline the findings of the study supported by statistics as appropriate. Do not use figures, graphs or tables in the abstract. The data provided must be sufficient to permit peer review of the abstract;
• Conclusion: provide summary and relevance of the main findings.

7.  AV Requirements:

• The meeting rooms are equipped with a screen, lectern mic, audio, data projectors, notes view and only MS PowerPoint will be accepted.
• MAC plug-points will be provided at the lecterns for those wishing to present using their own MACS but own devices are strongly discouraged as it can cause time delays and disruptions.

8.  Review:

• This will allow you to review your completed submission.

9.  Submit:

• Before you submit your abstract you must agree to the ‘Terms & Conditions’.

Abstract review criteria – what good abstracts look like:

1.   State of Completion: The abstract must show substantial results indicating that the work has been,

   or is nearly completed.

2.   Novelty: The abstract must show innovative information, or present a new topic or application in

   anaesthesia, pain medicine and/or perioperative medicine.

3.   Advancement of field: The abstract should present a significant contribution to the field, and the

   authors must specify how the paper will contribute to the development of global and/or local knowledge

4.   Quality: The quality of an abstract will be considered indicative of the quality of the final presentation

   by the reviewers. Authors should prepare their abstracts with care, assuring that the reader will

   understand the background of the issue(s) and the objectives of the presentation.

5.   Relevance: Material presented in abstracts must be concise and coherent, with the focus of the

   abstract and its relevance to an international audience, or specific relevance to local audiences, stated clearly.

Final decisions regarding acceptance by the abstract review committee will be based on scores.