FINANCIAL INTEREST AND DISCLOSURE IN SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS
Sheldon Krimsky
Department of Urban and Environmental Policy, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155, USA
New conflict of interest regulations issued by the US Public Health Service and the National Science Foundation became effective October 1, 1995. These regulations do not apply to scientific publications supported by federal funds. Since the
mid 1980s, an increasing number of biomedical science journals have established their own conflict of interest requirements for contributors. The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors passed a resolution in 1988 that authors should
acknowledge any financial relationship that may pose a conflict of interest, but the resolution is not obligatory for the 12 journals participating. This presentation discusses "disclosure of financial interest" in the context of scientific journal
publications. A recent study that quantifies the financial interest of authors in 14 biomedical publications provides a context for examining the variations in financial disclosure requirements among scientific journals. Factors that distinguish
journal policies are: Who should disclose (editors, authors, reviewers, letter writers)? What interests should be disclosed? Under what criteria should financial disclosures be published in the journal? What constitutes privacy in biomedical
publications? Finally, the presentation explores the challenges of incorporating financial disclosure requirements in the peer-review process and the obstacles to the implementation of journal policies on conflict of interest.
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