Only half of doctors pay heed to fair research methods
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Only half of the doctors in Japan have a solid understanding of research integrity, even after taking educational programs on research ethics, according to a survey.
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Takeshi Morimoto, a medical professor at the Hyogo College of Medicine, set out with his colleagues to survey 1,100 physicians who have worked on clinical studies.
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“A succession of incidents of misconduct have occurred in research,” Morimoto said. “It is essential to not only offer mandatory educational programs, but also introduce training methods that make doctors more active.”
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The findings, published in the British Medical Journal in October at (https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/10/e052351), also showed that 10 percent of doctors have copied parts of other research articles for their papers.
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The survey follows a series of scandals in the medical circles, including one that involved falsified findings on Diovan tablets for high blood pressure. Since then, physicians responsible for clinical studies have been subject to educational programs to learn about research fairness and ethics.
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Morimoto’s team carried out an online survey in March last year to determine if that kind of training is effective at curbing dodgy research practices.
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Asked whether they have any experiences in which research fairness was undermined, 11 percent admitted to improperly copying parts of other articles for their research, while another 11 percent listed themselves as co-authors of articles to which they made no contribution in writing or proofreading.
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On top of that, 5.8 percent said they have presented their research results through academic conferences or papers without first obtaining approval from ethics review committees and other bodies.
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The team said there are probably many more cases than what the study found, given the unlikelihood of doctors wanting to readily admit to lapses in research methods and ethical failures.
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In their daily research processes, 69 percent said they are fully aware of how to properly record and store data, while 60 percent said they pay due consideration to ensuring the safety of test subjects.
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But only 36 percent said they make efforts to create images in an appropriate manner, and just 26 percent said they strictly adhere to the rule of not listing themselves as a study co-author unless they are responsible for writing or proofreading.
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The team also studied why doctors have so little awareness of research fairness.
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Although 93 percent of the physicians have undergone educational programs on research ethics, 77 percent cited passive reasons for doing so, such as being “required by employers.”
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Only 54 percent said they became aware of problematic research methods after taking the educational programs. The authors suggest additional proactive education could help improve doctors’ clinical research practices.
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