Fraud and deceit in medical research rarely reported

Recent media reports have revealed that conflicts of interest and research fraud are rarely reported. They're neither disclosed in scientific literature or announced to the general public, which raises questions about the integrity of some research trials.

Publication of medical research is the cornerstone for the propagation and dissemination of medical knowledge, culminating in significant effects on the health of the world’s population. However, instances of individuals and institutions subverting the ethos of honesty and integrity on which medical research is built in order to advance personal ambitions have been well documented.

Many high-profile cases the world over have demonstrated this lack of ethics when performing medical research. Many esteemed professionals and highly regarded world institutions have succumbed to the ambitions of a few, who for personal gain, have behaved unethically in pursuit of their own ideals.

Although institutions have been set up to confront these issues, it would appear that a lot more is required on the part of journals and their editors to combat this pattern.

Individuals starting out at very junior positions in medical research ought to be taught the basics of medical research ethics.

This information allows the reader to reflect and think through their own experiences of research. This hopefully will allow individuals to start asking questions on, what is often, a poorly discussed topic in medical research.

Research misconduct and fraud is usually very difficult to detect and although organisations have monitoring and audit procedures these are unlikely to be fool proof in identifying deliberate fraudulent acts.

There is therefore, need to continuously improve research governance frameworks to safeguard the interests of the public.