Conference Announcement
As many of you know, the pandemic required us to “press pause” on our planned SITAR meeting scheduled last Spring for Seattle. We still hope to host a meeting in Seattle when possible, although we do not yet know when situational factors will make that possible.
We sent out a brief survey in January to gauge the thoughts of SITAR members and recent attendees about meeting, to help inform plans for the future. The initial responses (N = 32) suggest that concerns about travel during the pandemic are at the forefront of our minds.
Specifically, most respondents endorsed not being likely to attend an in-person meeting in May, 2021. Almost half projected being able to meet in person in October of 2021, whereas postponing in-person gathering another year to around May of 2022 led most respondents to endorse likelihood of attending. Open-ended responses almost uniformly named availability of vaccines as a key factor, although several also noted that the pandemic has restricted access to travel funds.
We sent out a brief survey in January to gauge the thoughts of SITAR members and recent attendees about meeting, to help inform plans for the future. The initial responses (N = 32) suggest that concerns about travel during the pandemic are at the forefront of our minds.
Specifically, most respondents endorsed not being likely to attend an in-person meeting in May, 2021. Almost half projected being able to meet in person in October of 2021, whereas postponing in-person gathering another year to around May of 2022 led most respondents to endorse likelihood of attending. Open-ended responses almost uniformly named availability of vaccines as a key factor, although several also noted that the pandemic has restricted access to travel funds.
Response |
In-person meeting May 2021 (%) |
In-person meeting Oct 2021 (%) |
In-person meeting May 2022 (%) |
Virtual meeting May 2021 (%) |
Definitely not |
58.1 |
25.8 |
Value |
Value |
Not sure, but likely not. |
32.3 |
25.8 |
12.9 |
9.7 |
Not sure, but likely yes. |
6.5 |
45.2 |
61.3 |
58.1 |
Definitely yes. |
3.2 |
3.2 |
25.8 |
32.3 |
Interestingly, most (~90%) indicated interest in a virtual SITAR meeting for this spring. As a result, the Executive Council took up this option for discussion, culminating in a plan to host a virtual SITAR meeting in June, 2021! We will publish a date and put out a call for submissions shortly.
Lastly, we are also considering other ways to foster communion and collaboration between SITAR members, and inquired about respondents’ interest in periodic (e.g., quarterly) online SITAR “special interest group” meetings on methodology/statistics or interpersonal-clinical topics. Most (90%) respondents indicated potential or definite interest, so we will look forward to following up about such offerings.
In short, we miss gathering with the SITAR community and are looking forward to virtual opportunities for us to connect until we are literally able to “circle-up” together again in person!
Lastly, we are also considering other ways to foster communion and collaboration between SITAR members, and inquired about respondents’ interest in periodic (e.g., quarterly) online SITAR “special interest group” meetings on methodology/statistics or interpersonal-clinical topics. Most (90%) respondents indicated potential or definite interest, so we will look forward to following up about such offerings.
In short, we miss gathering with the SITAR community and are looking forward to virtual opportunities for us to connect until we are literally able to “circle-up” together again in person!