Article type
Year
Abstract
Background:
Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions describes the funding source of the study and the potential conflicts of interest (COI) of the study authors as being “of particular importance” when abstracting data.
Objectives:
The objective of this study was to assess the policies of the Core Clinical Journals for authors of trials to disclose their financial and non-financial COI.
Methods:
We were interested in both financial and non-financial COI disclosure requirements in the core clinical journals indexed under Abridged Index Medicus by the National Library of Medicine. Data abstractors reviewed 'Instructions for authors' on the journal website and, in order to reflect the actual implementation of the COI disclosure policy, simulated the submission of a manuscript. We used a standard systematic review methodology for the data collection process.
Results:
Data abstraction is almost complete. The results of analyses will be available for presentation at the Colloquium. These will include descriptive analyses of the characteristics of COI disclosure policy. We will also conduct regression analyses with the characteristics of the journal as the independent variables, and the ‘requirement of disclosure of non-financial COI’ and the ‘use of a standardized COI disclosure form’ as the dependent variables.
Conclusions:
The findings, based on a systematic approach to data collection involving a simulated manuscript submission, will characterize the policies of the core clinical journals for authors of trials to disclose their financial and non-financial COI and identify areas of strength, and areas for improvement.
Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions describes the funding source of the study and the potential conflicts of interest (COI) of the study authors as being “of particular importance” when abstracting data.
Objectives:
The objective of this study was to assess the policies of the Core Clinical Journals for authors of trials to disclose their financial and non-financial COI.
Methods:
We were interested in both financial and non-financial COI disclosure requirements in the core clinical journals indexed under Abridged Index Medicus by the National Library of Medicine. Data abstractors reviewed 'Instructions for authors' on the journal website and, in order to reflect the actual implementation of the COI disclosure policy, simulated the submission of a manuscript. We used a standard systematic review methodology for the data collection process.
Results:
Data abstraction is almost complete. The results of analyses will be available for presentation at the Colloquium. These will include descriptive analyses of the characteristics of COI disclosure policy. We will also conduct regression analyses with the characteristics of the journal as the independent variables, and the ‘requirement of disclosure of non-financial COI’ and the ‘use of a standardized COI disclosure form’ as the dependent variables.
Conclusions:
The findings, based on a systematic approach to data collection involving a simulated manuscript submission, will characterize the policies of the core clinical journals for authors of trials to disclose their financial and non-financial COI and identify areas of strength, and areas for improvement.