Tips-and-Tricks-for-Poster-Displays-APAC-2015

First things first3Idenfy an appropriate conferenceThe conference you are submi?ng your poster to is likely to have specific themes. For APAC 2015, theconference themes are:∗ Value-based healthcare∗ Co-design∗ Leadership∗ High-performing organisa&ons∗ Transforma&onal change∗ Knowledge managementMake sure your poster fits the themes.Consider also ‘poster e&quee’. Do not submit the same poster to a number of different conferences.Read the conference instruconsThe conference organisers will provide guidelines for posters and poster abstracts. Read them carefully.Focus par&cularly on the criteria that the conference organisers have iden&fied for posters. These will tellyou the specific sec&on areas that judges will assess and mark you on. Look to see what guidance isprovided. Posters that fail to cover the content s&pulated will lose all the points allocated to the missingsec&on.Table 1 shows an example of poster content guidance from Science Fest 2014.Table 1: Content guidance for Science Fest 2014CriteriaWhat your answer should coverSec&on1Sec&on2What was theproblem?How was theimprovement ac&vityor area of clinicalneed iden&fied?Why did you do it?What were the goalsand outcomes you setout to achieve?What did you do?How was yourimprovement ac&vityled, planned andwhat approach didyou take?• Evidence of the problem is clearly iden&fied, e.g. throughmeasurement, research, stakeholder feedback• Why this is an important area to addressGoals and outcomesIden&fied measureable, achievable goals at the outset of the projectGovernance and leadershipHow was the project led and kept on track to achieve the goals/outcomes?Improvement methodology• Provide a clear descrip&on of the approach• Show a logical methodologyStakeholder engagement• Explain the approach taken to involve staff, pa&ents and otherstakeholders• Demonstrate how stakeholders were communicated with

4Sec&on 3 Was it successful? MeasurementShow a robust measurement of ac&vity against the iden&fied goalsand outcomesBenefitsImprove quality and the pa&ent experiencePoten&al to improve safetyImproved health and wellbeingImprove cost effec&veness of healthcare deliveryPoten&al to make CMH a beer place to workNext stepsHow will this be sustainedPoten&al to inform best prac&ce and roll out elsewhereSec&on 4 Presentaon Eye-catching — a visual statementReadability and clarity of content at 1m distancePer&nent informa&on to convey messageDoes the poster follow a logical sequence?Is the poster informa&ve/educa&onal?What is your poster trying to achieve?Think about your target audience and your focus. Before you start wri&ng, answer the followingques&ons:∗ Who is your target audience?∗ What key message do you want your target audience to take away?∗ How much knowledge does your target audience have of your subject, your organisa&on and these?ng and context of your work?∗ What outcome do you want your poster to achieve? Are you trying to share your work with otherprofessionals in your field, secure funding for further work, or something else?

5Consider logiscsSowareIf you have access to professional design so1ware such as InDesign and Adobe Illustrator, these can begood choices for crea&ng your poster.Microso1 PowerPoint is a good, widely available op&on that many people already know how to use. Ifyou choose to use PowerPoint, you can your graphs in Excel and export them.Other op&ons include LaTeX, Inkscape or OpenOffice Impress.PrinngMake arrangements to have your poster printed well in advance. Your company, organisa&on oruniversity may have a suitable printer. If you don’t have access to a printer that can print a poster, thereare a number of prin&ng companies that offer this service. Check also whether the conference organisershave made arrangements for prin&ng posters or nego&ated a discount with a par&cular prin&ng service.TransportaonIf you have to carry your poster with you to the conference, roll it up and transport it in a cardboard tubeto prevent it from being damaged.Remember to put your name and contact details on the tube if you have to travel by air in case the postergets lost. Carry the poster with you on the plane if you can rather than checking it in.

6Write the abstractTo get your poster accepted, you will first need to submit an abstract. Wri&ng the abstract can provealmost as challenging as crea&ng the poster itself for many people!First, carefully read the poster abstract guidelines provided by the conference organisers. These mays&pulate a word limit, acceptable methods of submission, and provide guidance on the content thatshould be covered in posters.Table 2 shows an example of poster abstract guidelines from APAC 2015. The organisers have set a limitof 300 words for the abstract and specified use of a supplied template for submissions.Table 2: Poster abstract guidelines for APAC 2015Context and problemIntervenon and methodologyMeasurement and resultsEffects of change and adaptability to otherse1ngsWhere was this improvement work done? What sort ofsystem/unit/department? What staff/client groups wereinvolved?What was the specific problem or challenge that you setout to address? How was it affec&ng pa&ent/client care?Provide a clear and succinct overview of the interven&on.State the improvement science methodology or study designused.How did you measure the effects of your changes? Statethe analy&cal methods used and the results obtained.What were the effects of your changes? How much did thechanges resolve the ini&al problem? How did this improvepa&ent/client care?Comment on the adaptability of your work to otherse?ngs.Your abstract should not exceed the word limit, should be submied using the preferred method, andshould clearly show that the content of your proposed poster fits the conference themes and posterguidelines.First, consider the &tle. You may not be able to change it once you submit your abstract, so make sure the&tle you give in the abstract is suitable for use on a poster (see Page 9).Next, dra1 the abstract. Think of your abstract as an advert for your poster. Its purpose is to capture theinterest of poten&al readers. It doesn't need to include every detail (people can come and see yourposter for that!), but it does need to provide a clear indica&on of the informa&on readers will find onyour poster.

7Wri&ng an abstract can be a challenge. The steps outlined below will help you to put together a succinct,informa&ve abstract. A fic&&ous project created as an exemplar for APAC 2015 is used as an example(Figure 1).1. Read the poster content guidelines again. They provide you with a ready-made structure and tellyou exactly what content you need to include.2. Focus on the first point in the guidelines. For APAC 2015, it is Context and problem. Theguidelines s&pulate exactly what should be covered (see Table 2). Cover all the requestedinforma&on, but no more:The Painless Procedures project was undertaken in the Delirium Unit of Middlemore Hospital inAuckland, New Zealand, by an interdisciplinary team of surgeons, pharmacists and nurses.Postopera&ve pain management for pa&ents with delirium was inconsistent, resul&ng in poor paincontrol and delayed recovery. Inconsistencies in pain care were related to varia&on in pain measurementamong staff and the type of analgesics used.3. Repeat Step 2 un&l you have covered each point. That is all that needs to be in the abstract.Figure 1: Abstract exemplar for APAC 2015The Painless Procedures project: Postoperave pain management for paents with deliriumContext and problemThe Painless Procedures project was undertaken in the Delirium Unit of Middlemore Hospital in Auckland, NewZealand, by an interdisciplinary team of surgeons, pharmacists and nurses.Postopera&ve pain management for pa&ents with delirium was inconsistent, resul&ng in poor pain control anddelayed recovery. Inconsistencies in pain care were related to varia&on in pain measurement among staff and thetype of analgesics used.Intervenon and methodologyThe Painless Procedures interven&on comprised an educa&onal package including a poster, an online trainingmodule, and a skills workshop for postopera&ve nurses. It was implemented over a one-year period through theunit’s professional development scheme and in new staff orienta&on. Posters were displayed in the unit as areminder.Change was implemented using a series of Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles, following Model for Improvementmethodology.Measurement and resultsThe project team measured changes in reported staff knowledge and confidence and in levels of varia&on in painmeasurement and choice of analgesics. Outcome measures were pa&ent length of stay and pa&entsa&sfac&on with pain control. PDSA cycles were used to study changes, and sta&s&cal process control charts wereused for analysis.Staff reported increased confidence in pain assessment and management for postopera&ve pa&ents with delirium.Consistency in pain measurement among staff increased, and analgesic treatment was standardised. Averagepa&ent length of stay reduced from 8 days to 5 days. Pa&ent sa&sfac&on with pain control rose from 35% to 85%.Effects of change and adaptability to other se1ngsImproved staff confidence and consistency in postopera&ve pain management for pa&ents with delirium hasimproved the quality of care for these pa&ents and enabled earlier discharge home. The quality improvementprocedures used in this project can be adapted to other units and healthcare se?ngs.

Dra4 your content8Refer to the conference instruc&ons and ensure that you organise your content around the sec&onss&pulated. Make it clear where judges and readers can find the informa&on s&pulated.Table 3: Suggested structure for poster displays – APAC 2015ContextProblemAssessment of problem andanalysis of its causesIntervenonMethodology (improvementscience/research study design)Strategy for changeMeasurement of improvementResultsEffects of changesLessons learntAdaptability to other se1ngsDeclaraon of conflicts ofinterestWhere was this improvement work done? What sort of system/unit/department? What staff/client groups were involved?What was the specific problem or challenge that you set out to address?How was it affec&ng pa&ent/client care?How did you quan&fy the problem? Did you involve staff at this stage?How did you assess the causes of the problem? What solu&ons/changes were needed to make improvements?Describe the interven&on used with sufficient detail that others couldreproduce or adapt it.If you used improvement science methodology, describe themethodology chosen (e.g. Model for Improvement, Lean, Pa&entExperience), why it was chosen and how it was applied.If your study was formal research, describe the study design (for example,observa&onal, quasi-experimental, experimental) chosen formeasuring the impact and outcomes.How did you implement the proposed change? What staff or othergroups were involved? How did you disseminate your plans forchange to the other groups involved? What was the &metable forchange?How did you measure the effects of your planned changes? Describethe analy&cal methods used and the results obtained.Display your results in manner appropriate to the methodology used.If appropriate, account for uncertainty and/or limita&ons (e.g.confidence interval).What were the effects of your changes? How much did these changesresolve the ini&al problem? How did this improve pa&ent/client care?What problems were encountered with the process or with thechanges?What lessons have you learnt from this work? What would you dodifferently next &me?Based on this experience, what is the main message that you wouldlike to convey to others? Discuss the adaptability of your work toother se?ngs.Who has funded your research; any other compe&ng interests thatcould be connected with your work.

9Making rough sec&on dra1s on separate pieces of paper or Post It notes at this stage can help to reducewordiness and plan your layout.Poster tleThe main poster &tle should instantly make it clear what the poster is about. Don’t use acronyms - theycarry no meaning unless the reader is already familiar with your work.For example, rather than:The 20,000 Days VHIU collaboraveTry:Caring for very high intensity users in the communityTitles should be no more than two lines.Make &tles snappy and aen&on-grabbing.For example, rather than:A collaborave improvement effort to reduce lower limb amputaon rates for diabec paentsTry:Feet for life: Reducing amputaon rates for people with diabetesRather than:Comparing, contrasng and implemenng a project scoring system to help improve thelikelihood of project success and sustainabilityTry:False starts and high fliers: How can we learn from improvement projects?Secon headingsTry using sec&on headings to help convey your message. A person strolling past your poster should beable to instantly get a picture of what your poster is about, and headings are the biggest, boldest text onyour poster, a1er the &tle. Use them! Look at the table below giving two different approaches to sec&onheadings for the 20,000 Days collabora&ve SMOOTH (Safer Medica&on Outcomes on Transfer Home).Table 4: Effecve use of secon headingsInstead of:ProblemIntervenonStudy designMeasurementResultsRecommendaonsTry:Adverse drug events (ADE) at transions of careSystemac pharmacist-led dischargeModel for ImprovementTracking ADE by gradeADE prevented and correctedAdopt SMOOTH at other hospitals

10Presenng contextAlways be clear where the work took place and who the key stakeholder groups are. This informa&on isabsent from many posters. Individual names and &tles are not needed, but do provide a clear statementof stakeholders.For example:Clinical representa&ves from the surgical team including the specialist nurse and colorectalsurgeon, pa&ents and family members, administra&ve staff and a representa&ve from the ITteam par&cipated in the project.Presenng aims and goalsAims and goals must be clear and measurable. Be specific. For example, if your aim is to increase thenumbers of staff coming through training you need to say from x to y. Do not use percentages without alevel of detail: they are meaningless unless quan&fied with actual numbers. For example, the sentence‘We will increase the number of people being trained by 6%’ could mean you aim to train three morepeople or three hundred more!Presenng intervenon and implementaonSay what you did and how you did it. Include informa&on on what tools or methods were used to makethe change.Presenng measures and outcomesEnsure that your aim/goal has a corresponding measure so that progress/success is visible. If there aremul&ple aims/goals, each must have a corresponding measure. The assessor is looking for evidence thatthe aim/improvement has been achieved. Think carefully about how you display your measures. If usinggraphs, make sure there are at least six data points and that there is a clear indica&on of when the workstarted so the assessor can easily iden&fy the baseline.In addi&on to illustra&ng the measures, clearly describe the resul&ng benefits. Explain the difference thework made. A good way to think of this is in terms of benefits to pa&ents, staff and the organisa&on. Afew comments or quotes can be included to illustrate these benefits. For example, a staff member mightsay that training has completely changed his prac&ce, a pa&ent might comment on having fewer hospitaladmissions and being able to spend more &me being well at home. The organisa&onal benefit might bereduc&on in errors or costs.ReferencesFormat references properly according to the guidelines provided by the conference organiser. If nospecific guidelines are provided, use a standard referencing system. Numbered styles such as Vancouverare preferable to author-date styles such as APA because they take up less of your word limit.Present references using the same size font as you used for the rest of your main text.

Get creave!11Posters are a visual mediumA poster is not a paper. Aim for a total of no more than 800 words. Avoid long blocks of text containingmore than 10 sentences, and keep sentences short. The eye does not follow lines of text on posters asaccurately as it does in a book or journal. Readers can lose the thread of long sentences, and few peoplewill read long screeds of text.Reduce your word countTry these &ps to minimise text:∗ Use phrases, sentence lists and bullet points.∗ Use ac&ve sentences – they’re more engaging and usually shorter than passive sentences.∗ Cut out words that add no meaning: ‘We repeated the test again a1er three months had passed.’∗ Use headings and figure &tles to help convey your message.Use pictures and diagramsA poster should contain at least one picture or diagram.A picture is worth 1,000 words! Think about whether some of your text would be beer replaced with apicture.ORHand-held echo (HHE)Portable, hand operated, baery poweredechocardiographs can be used as a valuabletool in screening cardiovascular diseases toassess systolic ventricular func&on and in pa-&ents with conges&ve heart failure to guideini&al treatment. It can be used by individualphysicians. The use of HHE was tested as partof the heart failure pathway.Figure 1: Hand-held echos used onward rounds aid the idenficaon ofheart diseaseIf using photographs, ensure that you use high resolu&on images that are large enough to be viewed froma distance. A simple test to check the quality of your image is to paste it into PowerPoint, expand it to themargins of the slide and print it on A4. This will ‘blow up’ your image to a large size and will show you if itbecomes granulated when enlarged. If the image isn’t clear, either be mindful of this when choosing theimage size in your poster or look for an alterna&ve image to use. This same principle can be used forphotographs, images of graphs/charts, diagrams and clipart files.

12Add a thin, plain and simple grey or black border to make photographs stand out.Crop photos to emphasise the important part.Try searching websites like Flickr and Shuerstock for generic photographs, but make sure they are highenough quality and that you do not breach copyright—you may need to contact the photograph’s ownerfor permission as well as ci&ng the picture appropriately in your references.Infographics can be an effec&ve and interes&ng way of displaying informa&on visually.Figure 2: Infographic showing the weight of New Zealand’s populaonSource: Science Media Centre (reproduced with permission).Use graphs and chartsA poster should contain at least one chart or graph.Use graphs and charts to explain and highlight the key rela&onships between figures/data. Ensure graphsare accurate, placed near accompanying text, and are labelled clearly. Graphs should also be largeenough to be read easily.If using tables, make sure informa&on can be read easily and that columns are not too narrow or too long.

13Give your graphs and figures headings which sum up the content shown and therefore help to communicateyour message. For example, rather than:Figure 1: Number of paent referrals to POACTry:Figure 1: Increase in paent referrals to POACEnsure figures, graphs and charts are clear and comprehensible from a distance of one metre. If at leastthe gist of a figure, chart or graph can’t be understood at a glance, it’s too complicated for a poster.Check that axis labels and axis numbers are clear and legible from one metre.Use sentence case for axis labels, not Title Case or CAPITALS or italics.The seven sins of displaying data1. The sin of choiceIf using charts or graphs, choose the type that best illustrates what you want to portray. Less is more.Avoid 3-D or ‘noisy’ graphs where possible.2. The sin of sizeThink about what axis scale is being used. Does it make your data look like it’s varying too much, or notenough?3. The sin of shapeFormat your graph (&tles, shape, size) in Excel first, then paste it as an image into your poster. This willhelp maintain the dimensions and quality and avoid distor&on.4. The sin of over-simplifyingShow data over &me wherever possible, rather than aggregated (for instance, show data monthly,rather than annually).5. The sin of wasteDelete unnecessary ink, such as horizontal bars, data tables and other ‘chart junk’:X Background colourX 3-D effectX Grid linesX Inset legend boxes6. The sin of secretsAnnotate your graphs and let them tell the story. What is this axis? When did you implement specificchanges? What is the value of the average?7. The sin of overloadDisplay one set of data on each graph. Think carefully how many of your measures you need to show—what’s most important?

14Figure 3: Ineffecve graphsFigure X: Line graph showing locaonsUninforma&ve &tle adds nothing and wasteswords14121086420Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov DecAucklandWellingtonHamiltonChristchurchDunedinInvercargillThames151050aryunJarilpAlyJurebctoOAucklandAucklandWellingtonHamiltonChristchurchDunedinInvercargillThamesBackground colour andgrid lines reduce contrastand clarityToo much datadisplayed makescomprehension astruggleUnclear axis labels3-D effect makes itdifficult to readgraph accuratelyFigure 4: Effecve graph

Design and layout15LayoutOrienta&on can be portrait or landscape.Check the conference poster guidelines for size requirements. If possible, useA1 (841x594mm) or A0 (1189x841mm).Maintain visual balance:∗ Aim for a symmetrical layout.∗ Line up edges of text panels and graphical elements.∗ Include a good balance of text and graphical elements. Ideally, a postershould contain a mixture of text, charts and/or graphs, and photographicelements. Posters that contain only dense blocks of text are dull forreaders and unappealing to assessors, who o1en have to look at between10 and 50 posters. Aim to include at least one graph and one picture.∗ Use space effec&vely—don’t cram everything in, and don’t leave swathesof wasted space.Use visual grammar—a graphical hierarchy of heading and text size to help readers iden&fy the mostimportant parts of your poster.English is read from top to boom, le1 to right. Organise your poster accordingly. Top-to-boomorganisa&on also enables two or more people to read your poster at the same &me without ge?ng ineach other’s way.Consider using organisa&onal cues such as sec&on numbers.Figure 5: Symmetrical versus asymmetrical layoutA symmetrical design thatuses space effec&velyAn asymmetrical designthat wastes space

16FontEnsure all the text on your poster is big enough to be legible at a distance of one metre. This includeso1en-overlooked text such as axis labels, axis numbers, figure legends and references. Recommendedminimum font sizes are:∗ 48-72 point for poster &tle∗ 36-48 point for headings∗ 18-24 point for main text∗ 14-16 point for fine printDon’t reduce the size of your font to squash in more text – reduce the amount of text!Choose a font that is easy to read. Use sans-serif fonts such as Arial for the &tle and headings and a seriffont such as Times New Roman or Palatino for the main text. Serif fonts are easier to read at smallerfont sizes and in blocks of text. Avoid fancy fonts such as Broadway.Avoid unnecessary varia&on in font sizes and styles.Le1-jus&fy text.ColourUse colour to help organise and convey your message. S&ck to a limited number of different colours: onefor background, one for text and one as an accent colour.Background colourUse cool, muted colours. Avoid presen&ng text straight on top of a background of fancy paerns,shimmers, textures, graduated shading or large background graphics. Light, solid-coloured text panelscan be used over an aen&on-grabbing (but not overwhelming) background to add interest to yourposter without detrac&ng from its readability.Text colourUse a dark colour that sharply contrasts against your background colour. Avoid using light text againsta dark background. It is &ring to read.Accent colourChoose a bright, contras&ng third colour to draw the reader’s eye to anything you want to highlight.Use it sparingly for maximum effect. Don’t reduce the impact of your accent colour by was&ng it ondecora&ve elements like lines and bullet points – use it for what you want the reader to look at.Be aware that some people are colour blind. Some degree of colour blindness affects around 8% of men(0.5% of women). Red-green colour blindness is par&cularly common. Affected people have difficultydis&nguishing these colours.Check that your colours print looking the same as they do on screen!Choose a combina&on of colours that complement each other:∗ Light and dark colours together provide effec&ve contrast∗ Avoid using only pale colours – they will look washed out and lack contrast, reducing readability∗ Avoid colours that clash or may look unprofessional – lime green, fluorescents

Review and feedback17ReviewUse a checklist to make sure your poster contains all the essen&al elements and avoids common piXalls.Some good checklists are available on the internet. See, for example, Strategic Communica&ons &Planning’s poster checklist at hp://www.bandwidthonline.org/howdoi/091023%20Poster%20Checklist.pdf.FeedbackGet a colleague with a sharp, fresh pair of eyes to check your poster over for typos, errors, lack of clarity,poor grammar or spelling mistakes.Ask colleagues to cri&que your poster. To get the most honest feedback, allow people to look over theposter while you are not present. Supply them with Post It to s&ck comments onto the poster.Load your poster onto social media sites such as Flickr and Tumblr to invite comment from colleagues andcontacts in other organisa&ons and from the general public.

Presenng your poster18Read the informa&on provided by the conference organisers. There may be important informa&on about:∗ facili&es and condi&ons at the venue for displaying posters∗ hanging facili&es provided (or not provided!)∗ &mes posters need to be mounted and removed∗ &mes presenters may or may not aend their posters∗ handouts and other suppor&ng informa&on/gimmicks/gi1s/samples etc. you may offer readers.Ensure you bring materials to hang your poster.Bring along business cards and adequate supplies of any suppor&ng informa&on to distribute tointerested readers.Ensure that you are as well-presented as your poster! Be professional in dress and manner.Stay close by your poster, but be careful not to obstruct the view of readers or passers-by.Give some thought to what you want to say about your work to readers before the poster session. Plantwo or three interes&ng points to make to introduce your poster and sum up what you did, what youfound and the difference your work made. Avoid rambling to such an extent that you bore people orhinder them from actually reading your poster. Simply introduce your work as planned and be availableto answer any further ques&ons that develop. Remember, too, that most people’s favourite subject isthemselves. Ask them one or two ques&ons about their work to get them engaged!

Useful resources19ResourcesThis guide has been developed from the following resources. We gratefully acknowledge all sources used.Purrington, C.B. Designing conference posters. Retrieved 2014 July 9, from hp://colinpurrington.com/&ps/academic/posterdesignHess, G., Tosney, K. & Liegel, L. Crea&ng effec&ve poster presenta&ons. Retrieved 2014 May 22, fromhp://www.ncsu.edu/project/posters/Block, S. Dos and don’ts of poster presenta&on. Biophysical Journal. 1996 Dec; 71: 3527-3529.Penn State University. Scien&fic posters. Retrieved 2014 July 9, from hp://www.wri&ng.engr.psu.edu/posters.htmlMunter, M. & Paradi, D. Guide to PowerPoint. Pearson Pren&ce Hall; Upper Saddle River, New Jersey:2007.Wilkinson, I. Super seminars, legendary lectures and perfect posters: The science of presen&ng well. AACCPress; Washington, DC: 1998.Bern Dibner Library of Science and Technology. How to create a research poster. Retrieved 2014 July 9,from hp://poly.libguides.com/postersEggart, M.L. Effec&ve poster design for academic conferences. Retrieved 2014 July 9, from hp://www.ga.lsu.edu/Effec&ve%20Poster%20Design%20for%20Academic%20Conferences.pdfStrategic Communica&ons & Planning. Poster checklist. Retrieved 2014 July 9, from hp://www.bandwidthonline.org/howdoi/091023%20Poster%20Checklist.pdfDowman, M. How to give a poster presenta&on. Retrieved 2014 July 18, from hp://www.lel.ed.ac.uk/~mdowman/mike_dowman_how_to_give_a_poster_presenta&on.htmlScience Media Centre. Bulk of the na&on. [Infographic]. Retrieved 2014 July 22, from hp://www.sciencemediacentre.co.nz/wp-content/upload/2011/12/SMC-obesity-final-A4.pngSpecial thanks also to Dr Lynne Maher, Director of Innova&on, Ko Awatea, for her invaluable input.