Conflict of Interest in Pest Control Industry
Our business league, Humane Wildlife Control Assn, is asking hosts of pest and nuisance wildlife control seminars, workshops and conferences to require authors of presentations, oral or otherwise (posters), disclose any conflicts of interest. This is common practice in the field of medicine but seemingly absent in the pest control industry.
Sadly, many speakers at these events benefit from the sale and use of poison, or their research is funded by - or in some cases their salary is covered by manufacturers and distributors of poison.
These relationships must be disclosed!
Example:
Conflict of Interest Disclosure Statement
Please note that it is mandatory for all participants to include in their presentation a statement either to disclose any potential or direct conflict of interest, or, alternatively, to state that they have no conflict of interest.
All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence (bias) their work. Examples of potential conflicts of interest include employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications/registrations, grants or other funding.
Content of Disclosure Requirement
Each author is required to disclose:
1) the source of any funding that supported, in whole or in part, the research or writing to which the presentation relates;
2) any financial interest held, at the time of the presentation or within the preceding 24 months, by the author or by his or her spouse (or legal equivalent) in a material, device, or procedure to which the topic of the presentation relates;
3) any employment, consultant, directorship, partnership, advisory, or other professional relationship at the time of the presentation or within the preceding 24 months between the author or his or her spouse (or legal equivalent) and any business entity, research organization, or educational institution with a proprietary or pecuniary interest in a material, device, or procedure to which the topic of the presentation relates; and
4) any gifts, meals, or reimbursements of expenses, with a combined monetary value of U.S. $100 or more, received within the preceding 24 months from any one business entity, research organization, or educational institution with a proprietary or pecuniary interest in a material, device, or procedure to which the topic of the presentation relates.
The disclosure policy does not require an author to disclose 1) the value of a pecuniary interest; or 2) the terms, conditions, or compensation associated with any professional relationship between an author or his or her spouse (or legal equivalent) and any entity, research organization, or educational institution.
Time and Format of the DisclosureThe disclosure required by the policy is to be made at the time of the presentation in a form or manner that is accessible to any person viewing or hearing the presentation. The format of the disclosure shall be the same as, or consistent with, the format of the presentation as described below.
1) For oral presentations, the slide after the title slide shall contain the disclosure information in an easily readable format. This slide should be displayed for a minimum of 10 seconds if it contains any disclosures other than the source(s) of the funding for the research.
2) For poster presentations, the disclosure information shall be incorporated into the poster or placed on the poster board with the poster for the duration of the poster exhibition.
3) Level of detail regarding each financial interest is left to each author to decide.
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