title: Financial Conflicts of Interest, Disclosure, and Academic Discipline.
abstract: Peer assessments of researchers' financial conflicts of interest (FCOIs) are crucial to effective FCOI management. We sought to determine how academics perceive FCOI disclosure and whether their perceptions vary depending on discipline and educational backgrounds. Participants (faculty and staff members from a multi-disciplinary academic medical center) responded to a questionnaire involving 10 hypothetical scenarios in which researchers either disclosed or failed to disclose a financial conflict (between-participants manipulation). Participants viewed disclosure as important and believed that researchers' objectivity would be affected by undisclosed FCOIs. In contrast to non-physicians, physicians showed greater recognition that the existence of an FCOI does not depend on its disclosure. This suggests that physicians are relatively well informed about FCOIs, which is likely attributable to more education about them.
authors.affiliation: The University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, USA Samuel.Bruton@usm.edu.
authors.forename: Samuel V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Bruton
authors.affiliation: The University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, USA.
authors.forename: Donald F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Sacco
authors.affiliation: University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, USA.
authors.forename: Ralph
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Didlake
mesh_terms: D000046:Academic Medical Centers; D000328:Adult; D001290:Attitude; D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000941:ethics*; D003132:Commerce; D016265:Conflict of Interest; D030881:Disclosure; D004493:Education; D005178:Faculty; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007221:Industry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010379:Peer Group; D010820:Physicians; D012108:Research Personnel / Q000941:ethics*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: conflict of interest; financial disclosure; research ethics