Conflicts of Interest – American Journal of Biomedicine

American Journal of BioMedicine (AJBM) recommends that authors considering submission to journal first read the “Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals: Ethical Considerations in the Conduct and Reporting of Research: Conflicts of Interest” published by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors.

A conflict of interest involves the abuse actual, apparent, or potential of the trust that people have in professionals. The simplest working definition states: A conflict of interest is a situation in which financial or other personal considerations have the potential to compromise or bias professional judgment and objectivity. An apparent conflict of interest is one in which a reasonable person would think that the professionals judgment is likely to be compromised. A potential conflict of interest involves a situation that may develop into an actual conflict of interest. It is important to note that a conflict of interest exists whether or not decisions are affected by a personal interest; a conflict of interest implies only the potential for bias, not a likelihood. It is also important to note that a conflict of interest is not considered misconduct in research, since the definition for misconduct is currently limited to fabrication, falsification, and plagiarism.

In addition, reviewers are required to indicate any potential conflicting interests they might have related to any particular paper they are asked to review.

Samples of wording for reporting conflict(s) of interest:

[Name of individual] has received fees for serving as a [position; such as speaker, consultant, advisory board member] for [name of organization(s)].

[Name of individual] has received research funding from [name of organization(s)].

[Name of individual] is an employee of [name of organization(s)].

[Name of individual] owns stocks and/or shares in [name of organization(s)].

[Name of individual] owns patent [patent identifier information (including patent number, two-letter country code, and kind code) and a brief description].

Conflicts of interest form

Please print and sign conflicts of interest form and send with manuscript material. [Conflicts of interest form]