Transparency Matters: Why Disclosing Conflicts of Interest is Critical in Scientific Publishing
Conflicts of interest come up frequently in medical publishing. They can arise from personal or financial relationships, personal experiences, and relationships to institutions and organizations. In medical publishing, a conflict of interest must be disclosed when an author or their institution, employer, or funder has financial or other relationships that could influence or bias the author’s decisions, work, or study.
Discouraging Bad Science
To discourage bias and bad science, many medical journals mandate that authors disclose all relevant potential conflicts of interest, including financial and nonfinancial interests, and some even have policies for relationships with peer reviewers and editors. Undisclosed conflicts of interest can be harmful to science, publications, and the public’s faith in scientific fact.
One interesting outlet that publicizes conflicts of interest is https://openpaymentsdata.cms.gov/ (and if you’re interested in more bad science, check out this website: https://retractionwatch.com/. I will publish a blog post about retractions in the future.) While many times, conflict of interest disclosures are not necessarily negative, hiding conflicts of interest is. To improve transparency and reporting, the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) created a universal author disclosure form that can be used for all authors and any journal.
In conclusion, medical publications that mandate conflict of interest disclosures, including financial and nonfinancial interests, are championing good, accurate, and unbiased science. Some even have policies for recusal of peer reviewers and editors with conflicts of interest. In my editing experience, we have the saying, “more disclosures, not less.”
Behind the Scenes of Editing
For example, I wondered once if an author disclosing their place of employment was really necessary, since they are already disclosing their place of employment in their affiliations. But I recited the mantra, “more disclosures, not less.”
Generally, authors who disclose their place of employment, even if it is already listed in the affiliations, is beneficial. The conflicts of interest disclosure section should be as comprehensive as possible, and disclosing place of employment might give more relevant information to readers who are evaluating the authors’ conflicts of interest.
Furthermore, what if one does not read the affiliations closely? The conflicts of interest disclosure section may be the portion that is given more attention. Hence, it may be correct to put the place of employment in the conflicts of interest disclosure section, even if it may be redundant with information provided in the affiliations section, which is placed less prominently in many cases.
The Difficulty of Editing Conflicts of Interest
Conflicts of interest can be time-consuming to edit, and it's not uncommon for reviewers and editors to wonder how authors have time for all their consulting activities. It's important to remember that disclosure of a potential conflict of interest does not necessarily imply wrongdoing on the part of the author. Many academic researchers and clinicians engage in consulting activities as a way to supplement their income and share their expertise with industry partners. However, it's also important to ensure that potential conflicts of interest are disclosed and appropriately managed to maintain the integrity and transparency of the research process.
How Disclosing Personal Connections Can Strengthen Scientific Articles
In a recent article about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on group home workers, an author disclosed that his sister has Down syndrome. This disclosure raises important questions about potential conflicts of interest in scientific publishing. While the author's personal connection to the topic may provide valuable insights and motivation to further research, it also creates the possibility of bias. Editors must carefully consider disclosures such as this one to ensure that the article presents a balanced and unbiased perspective on the subject matter. In this case, the author's disclosure provides transparency and allows readers to evaluate any potential influence his personal connection to the topic may have on the article's findings.
Disclosing conflicts of interest in medical articles is crucial to ensure transparency and maintain the credibility of the research. At Compose & Consult, I understand the importance of balancing transparency with brevity in medical articles. If you would like to learn more about disclosing the right amount in a medical article, feel free to contact me.