Addressing financial conflicts of interest: evaluating workshops with consumers

Session: 

Oral session: Education and training

Date: 

Tuesday 18 September 2018 - 12:20 to 12:30

Location: 

Ochil 1

All authors in correct order:

Moynihan R1, Hurley S2, Fox M3, McDonald S2, Lisa B4
1 Bond University, Australia
2 Cochrane Australia, Australia
3 Health Consumers Queensland, Australia
4 University of Sydney, Australia
Presenting author and contact person

Presenting author:

Lisa Bero

Contact person:

Lisa Bero
Abstract text
Background: There is growing evidence, including from Cochrane Reviews, that financial conflicts of interest are a major healthcare challenge. Evidence shows industry-sponsored trials are more likely to find favourable results for sponsors’ products, doctors attending industry-funded events are more likely to prescribe sponsors’ products, and specialists with financial ties to industry tend to make favourable statements about sponsors’ products. While there are few data, there is controversy and debate too about potential influence of industry sponsorship on consumer and advocacy groups. At the same time there are growing moves towards transparency, and new databases with details about ties between industry, individuals and organisations.

Objectives:
1) To work with consumer organisations and Cochrane Australia to develop and evaluate workshops addressing financial conflicts of interest in healthcare, delivered to consumers, advocates and consumer organisations.
2) To communicate evidence about conflicts of interest, impart skills in accessing transparency databases, understand more about consumers and consumer organisations responses to these issues, and engender wider public discussion.

Methods: The workshop curricula will be based on similar workshops delivered to Australian journalists, developed by researchers in collaboration with Cochrane Australia. Workshops will be approximately three hours in length, in five Australian cities, potentially involving 60 to 90 participants. Evaluation methods are being finalized at time of abstract submission and will draw on methods previously used by the academic investigators to evaluate focus groups and workshops with consumers on topics including scientific bias, overdiagnosis and critical appraisal.

Results: The first pilot workshop is scheduled for 14 May 2018, with others to follow, and preliminary results will be available at time of the Cochrane Colloquium, in September 2018.

Patient or healthcare consumer involvement: The project is being developed with limited input and support from staff at leading consumer organisations, including Health Consumers Queensland, Health Consumers Alliance of SA, Health Issues Centre, Health Consumers Council (WA), Health Consumers NSW. A caveat is that original workshop curricula, and this project idea, were generated by researchers, not consumers.

Relevance to patients and consumers: 

This project aims to evaluate a strategy to communicate evidence about financial conflicts of interest to consumers and health consumer organisations. The research project is being developed with some limited input from representatives from leading health consumer organisations in in Australia, and from Cochrane Australia. Central to the strategy are workshops which introduce the evidence about conflicts of interest in healthcare, share strategies for investigating transparency databases, and stimulate debate about conflicts of interest in healthcare. A pilot workshop hosted by Health Consumers Queensland is scheduled for May 14, 2018.