The Effect of Different Financial Competing Interest Statements on Readers' Perceptions of Clinical Educational Articles

Randomised Controlled Trial to Measure the Effect of Different Financial Competing Interest Statements on Readers' Perceptions of Clinical Educational Articles

Financial ties with industry are common among doctors, academics and institutions. This trial aims to investigate the influence of different types of industry-linked activities on readers' perceptions of clinical reviews. Two clinical reviews have been selected on medical topics and study participants (practicing doctors) will be sent one review each. The reviews will be identical except for the inclusion of one of four different permutations of competing interest statements. Participants will be asked to rate the one review they are sent based on the study outcomes (confidence, interest, importance and likeliness to change practice). The study focus is on educational articles as these are intended to guide patient care and convey the authors' interpretation of selected data.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Practising doctors in the UK who are members of the British Medical Association (BMA) and receive The BMJ will be included.

Exclusion Criteria:

• BMA members who have opted out of receiving a free copy of The BMJ, public health doctors, consultant oral/dental surgeons, consultants in private practice, retired doctors and student members will be excluded.