Conflict of Interest
Conflict of interest describes a relationship, commitment or interest that constitutes a moral hazard i.e., something that has the likelihood of producing a moral error. In contrast a breach of obligation describes an actual violation of a moral or legal duty. These include: violations of norms of professional scientific conduct, violations of human rights, neglect of professional role-related fiduciary responsibilities, and failure to acknowledge the existence of conflict of interest situations. Adopting the distinction between conflicts of interest and breaches of obligation can ease defensiveness in disclosing and discussing the existence of conflicts of interest since their acknowledgment would not be an admission of wrongdoing. Clearly, distinguishing between circumstances that may influence conduct and actual misconduct avoids the error or referring to potential conflicts of interest. It also avoids what most commentators regard as an unhelpful differentiation between having a conflict of interest and merely having the appearance of a conflict of interest (Erde 1996). A conflict of interest is best understood as an objective fact situation in which there is increased potential for harm or wrongdoing as a result of compromised independence.
The goal of managing conflicts of interest is to minimize the extent to which the design and conduct of research is influenced – consciously or unconsciously- by financial considerations. Conflicts of interest are of two major types (Rodwin 1993):
- Conflicts between the professional’s personal or financial interests and the interests of a subject/participant, patient or client.
- Conflicts that involve competing loyalties, to two or more subjects, patients, or clients. Alternatively, the conflict may be between a subject/participant, client or patient and a third party to whom the professional owes contractual duties, for example, sponsors of research, insurance companies, employers, etc.
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