Registrations now open for first Mind Matters Initiative Research Symposium

The inaugural Mind Matters Initiative (MMI) Research Symposium will take place Friday, 20 January 2017, at the University of Edinburgh’s Pollock Halls, under the theme ‘Understanding and supporting veterinary mental health’.

The event will bring together those involved in research into mental health and wellbeing in the veterinary profession in order to share latest findings and consider what interventions may be developed from this knowledge. There will also be the opportunity to identify the gaps in the current research jigsaw.

Keynote speakers will include Professor Rory O’Connor of the Suicide Behaviour Research Lab at the University of Glasgow, Dr Debbie Cohen, Chair of the Faculty of Occupational Health at Cardiff University, and Chris O’Sullivan of the Mental Health Foundation.

The event will be preceded, on the evening of Thursday 19 January 2017, by an optional informal dinner at the beautiful St Leonard’s Hall, for a chance to network with colleagues and start the discussion.

Tickets for the Symposium cost £30 (or £54 including dinner on 19 January), and are available on the Mind Matters Eventbrite page.

Call for submissions

A call for submissions from those keen to do short talks or present posters at the Symposium is also now open. Papers are particularly invited in the following areas:

1. The veterinary life course: career stages, transitions and wellbeing
2. Veterinary mental health: building the evidence base
3. Mental health and wellbeing in veterinary education
4. Workplace health
5. Veterinary nurse mental health and wellbeing
6. Support for veterinary professionals in distress
7. New graduate mental health and support
8. Wildcard – other veterinary mental health and wellbeing research projects are welcome to apply via this stream

Presentations should be in the format of a 12-minute oral presentation (10 minutes, plus two for questions) or an A1 or A0 poster. Those wishing to apply should submit an abstract clearly marked ‘poster’ or ‘oral presentation’. The title should be 15 words or fewer. The abstract should include author(s) first name(s), followed by surname(s), institution of affiliation and country. The body of the text should be no longer than 250 words and include: background; clear and explicit aims and objectives, hypotheses or research questions; methods; results; discussion; and conclusion.

All abstracts should be submitted as Word documents to Rosie Allister no later than 23:59 (GMT) on 28 November 2016. Applicants will be notified if they have been successful within 14 days of this date. Speakers whose applications are successful will receive complimentary registration for the Symposium (does not include travel and accommodation costs or the dinner) but are encouraged to register in the first instance, to secure their place.