A Literature Review of Non-financial Conflicts of Interest in Healthcare Research and Publication

Devin Orchard, MS3 – University of Minnesota; Philip Day, PhD – Assistant Professor, Associate Director of Education, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School; Marc Tunzi – Senior Associate Program Director, Family Medicine Residency, Natividad Medical Center; David Satin, MD – Associate Professor, Department of Family Medicine, University of Minnesota Medical School

Abstract: Attention to conflicts of interest (COIs) in healthcare research has increased exponentially over the past two decades. Although COI has an extensive literature, publications about non-financial conflict of interest (NFCOI) are comparatively rare. The presentation will summarize our systematic literature review of 206 publications in PubMed specific to NFCOIs. We found a heterogeneous literature with fundamental disagreements about (1) whether NFCOIs should even be understood as COIs, (2) whether they need to be addressed in research, and (3) whether they should be managed with disclosure and if it alone is sufficient. Despite these disagreements, the balance of arguments in the literature suggests that (1) NFCOIs are a meaningfully distinct type of COI, (2) they require management, and (3) disclosure is a necessary but insufficient management strategy. These results are consistent with Wiersma et al., the first systematic review of this topic. Independently and concurrently, we and Wiersma’s team reached similar conclusions using different search strategies, databases, and datasets. Together, these two reviews demonstrate a need for researchers, reviewers, and editors to engage in active dialogue toward consensus on the approach to management of NFCOI in healthcare research. Without a unified path forward, we risk further erosion of public trust in scientific research.

Keywords: Conflict of Interest, Ethics, Research and Publication