Conflict of interests can affect anyone in the research team. It may affect how a study is designed, how research subjects are treated, and/or how research findings are presented.
Even the mere appearance of a conflict can reduce the confidence that others have in your professional conduct and research findings.
Consider the following scenarios.
Maria is a research assistant. She is involved in a study on the mental health of carers for people with terminal illnesses. Her responsibilities involve recruiting subjects and conducting surveys with them. For every subject that she recruits, she is paid RM 10.
Besides, Maria is also holding two other part-time jobs. Her 3-year-old son has congenital heart disease and she needs money for his heart surgery.
As an outside observer, do you think Maria could be affected by any COIs?
Dr Raju is a palliative care physician. Outside of clinical practice, he is an avid mindfulness guru and frequently volunteers to conduct mindfulness meditation sessions for hospital staff and the public.
Dr Raju’s son is a computer scientist and developed a mobile application on mindfulness breathing. Dr Raju is conducting a study to look at the effectiveness of this mobile app in relieving patients’ end-of-life symptoms, compared to standard care.
As an outside observer, do you think Dr Raju could be affected by any COIs?
(Derived from real events: ‘Lessons learned from the gene therapy trial for ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency’ (Wilson, 2009)) (3)
Dr Wilson is a prominent researcher who invented the use of viral vectors in gene transfer therapies. He is a founder of a biotechnology company which is licensed to market his scientific inventions. He is entitled to receive royalties from the company’s profits and also holds shares in the company. The company is one of the major funders of Dr Wilson’s laboratory.
Dr Wilson wants to test his new gene transfer techniques on patients with an uncommon genetic disease.
Wilson JM. Lessons learned from the gene therapy trial for ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency. Molecular Genetics and Metabolism. 2009 Apr 1;96(4):151–7. Available from: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S109671920800499X
As an outside observer, do you think Dr Wilson could be affected by any COIs?