Conflict of Interest

Which of the following is a standard core component of an institutional conflict of interest policy? - a. A section on the disclosure process - b. A section on confidentiality and privacy - c. An external communications plan section - d. A section on budget management

a. A section on the disclosure process

According to the U.S. Public Health Service, the definition of the term "investigator": - a. Includes anyone involved in the conduct or reporting or research - b. Refers only to the principal investigator and laboratory technicians - c. Refers only to the principal investigator - d. Includes faculty but not students

a. Includes anyone involved in the conduct or reporting or research

Which of the following most accurately describes an institutional conflict of interest? - a. It occurs when the interests of an institution can bias its decision-making - b. It is a term used interchangeably with conflict of commitment - c. It is typically considered to be an academic honor code violation - d. It is a form of research misconduct in accordance with federal policy

a. It occurs when the interests of an institution can bias its decision-making

Which of the following is most likely to be considered a conflict of commitment? - a. A new graduate is deciding between job offers from two institutions - b. A researcher cancels laboratory meetings in order to perform consulting work - c. A senior researcher has to resolve a dispute between two junior researchers - d. A researcher takes part in political activities during weekends

b. A researcher cancels laboratory meetings in order to perform consulting work

Which of the following examples is the most likely to be considered an institutional conflict of interest? - a. A department hiring its new chair from a rival school - b. A senior official serving on a board of a company that donates to the institution - c. A faculty member owning equity in a private company - d. A staff member at an institution owning stock in a private company

b. A senior official serving on a board of a company that donates to the institution

According to the U.S. Public Health Service, which of the following would be considered a significant financial interest? - a. Travel expenses reimbursed by a U.S. institution of higher education - b. An equity interest valued at $5,000 owned by the investigator's spouse in company that produces products related to the investigator's institutional responsibilities - c. An equity interest valued at $10,000 or more that is not related to the investigator's institutional responsibilities - d. Income from the university where the investigator is currently employed

b. An equity interest valued at $5,000 owned by the investigator's spouse in company that produces products related to the investigator's institutional responsibilities

At a minimum, how often are investigators funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health required to receive conflict of interest training? - a. Annually - b. Every four years - c. Every two years - d. Once per career stage

b. Every four years

Which of the following is the most appropriate way to handle a conflict of conscience relating to a project? - a. Follow all of the federal regulations relating to conflicts of conscience - b. Notify relevant parties that a conflict may exist and seek advice about whether to accept or decline the project - c. Report the issue to the institution's research misconduct office - d. Remain quiet about the conflict and continue with one's work

b. Notify relevant parties that a conflict may exist and seek advice about whether to accept or decline the project

Which of the following financial conflict of interest information must be made available by institutions on a public website or within five business days upon request? - a. The financial interests of all research administrators at an academic center - b. The financial conflicts of interest of senior/key personnel on projects funded by the U.S. Public Health Service - c. The conflicts of commitment of researchers funded by the U.S. Public Health Service - d. The financial interests of all faculty at an academic center

b. The financial conflicts of interest of senior/key personnel on projects funded by the U.S. Public Health Service

Which of the following statements most accurately describes the disclosure process for institutional conflicts of interest? - a. An institution's institutional conflicts of interest must be revealed to all of its external funding sources - b. The manner for disclosing institutional conflicts of interest varies depending on institutional policy - c. The statutes of most states require institutional conflicts of interest to be disclosed to the public - d. Federal regulations require institutional conflicts of interest to be disclosed to the public

b. The manner for disclosing institutional conflicts of interest varies depending on institutional policy

The U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) requires institutions to: - a. Post the significant financial interests of all researchers to a publicly available website - b. Block faculty from owning any equity interest in a company that sponsors research - c. Disclose their investigators' new financial conflicts of interest to the PHS awarding component within 60 days of discovering them - d. Collect information about the significant financial interests of all faculty and staff

c. Disclose their investigators' new financial conflicts of interest to the PHS awarding component within 60 days of discovering them

Institutions are required by the U.S. Public Health Service to do which of the following: - a. Eliminate any and all conflicts of interest - b. Update their financial conflict of interest policy every four years - c. Evaluate whether a significant financial interest is related to an investigator's research and constitutes a financial conflict of interest - d. Apply the same financial conflict of interest policy to all researchers regardless of their funding source

c. Evaluate whether a significant financial interest is related to an investigator's research and constitutes a financial conflict of interest

According to the U.S. Public Health Service, a "significant financial interest" includes royalty income paid to an investigator and its disclosure is required: - a. Regardless of the source of the income - b. Only if it relates to income from governmental agencies - c. Except if that income is from the institution that currently employs the investigator - d. Only if it relates to income from publicly traded companies

c. Except if that income is from the institution that currently employs the investigator

Which of the following statements is true regarding the reporting of outside interests and the management of conflicts? - a. The institution must report identified financial conflicts of interest to the U.S. Office of Research Integrity - b. Investigators are responsible for developing their own management plans for significant financial interests - c. Investigators must disclose their significant financial interests related to their institutional responsibilities and not just those related to a particular project - d. Investigators must disclose all of their financial interests regardless of whether they are related to a research project

c. Investigators must disclose their significant financial interests related to their institutional responsibilities and not just those related to a particular project

Which statement most accurately describes a conflict of conscience? - a. It occurs when a financial reward is provided for outstanding work - b. It occurs when financial interests bias research - c. It occurs when an individual's personal beliefs could affect the performance or outcome of research - d. It occurs when researchers have two or more responsibilities to complete at the same time

c. It occurs when an individual's personal beliefs could affect the performance or outcome of research

Which of the following statements is true? - a. Federal agencies require institutions to have policies on both conflict of commitment and conflict of conscience - b. All institutions have conflict of conscience policies because they are required by state governments - c. Many institutions have conflict of commitment policies even though they are not strictly required to by federal agencies - d. Federal agencies require institutions to have a conflict of conscience policy

c. Many institutions have conflict of commitment policies even though they are not strictly required to by federal agencies

An investigator received $4,000 of consulting income from a publicly-traded drug company over the past 12 months. The investigator also owns stock in that company valued at $2,000. The investigator is submitting a grant to the National Institutes of Health that involves evaluating the effectiveness of a drug produced by the same drug company. Which of the following is true? - a. The investigator does not have a significant financial interest related to the grant because the consulting income is less than $5,000 - b. The investigator does not have a significant financial interest related to the grant because the stock's value is less than $5,000 - c. The aggregate of the consulting income and the stock exceeds $5,000 and therefore is a significant financial interest - d. The value of stock is not calculated when determining significant financial interests

c. The aggregate of the consulting income and the stock exceeds $5,000 and therefore is a significant financial interest

According to the U.S. Public Health Service regulations, investigators are required to disclose travel sponsored or reimbursed by: - a. A government agency - b. A U.S. institution of higher education - c. An academic teaching hospital - d. A publicly-traded company

d. A publicly-traded company

Which of the following statements most accurately describes a mitigation report? - a. A report from an institution telling the U.S. Public Health Service how bias will be minimized before a research project begins - b. A report from the U.S. Public Health Service to an institution of what must be done to deal with financial conflicts of interest of its PHS-funded researchers - c. An annual report to the U.S. Public Health Service of all the significant financial interests of the institution's PHS-funded researchers - d. A report to the U.S. Public Health Service of efforts that will be taken by the institution to deal with any bias that was found in research conducted while there was an unreported financial conflict of interest

d. A report to the U.S. Public Health Service of efforts that will be taken by the institution to deal with any bias that was found in research conducted while there was an unreported financial conflict of interest

Which of the following is true regarding the U.S. Public Health Service and its approach to the disclosure of significant financial interests. - a. Any income from a mutual fund must be disclosed - b. Any equity interest contained in a retirement account must be disclosed - c. Any equity interest owned by the investigator's cousins must be disclosed - d. Any equity interest in a non-publicly traded company must be disclosed

d. Any equity interest in a non-publicly traded company must be disclosed

Which statement most accurately describes a conflict of commitment? - a. It involves a monetary gain by one party over another party - b. It occurs when an institution does not follow the financial rules from a funding resource - c. It can only occur between an institution and an outside organization - d. It occurs when outside activities interfere with one's responsibilities to an employer

d. It occurs when outside activities interfere with one's responsibilities to an employer

Which of the following most accurately describes the status of U.S. federal regulations on institutional conflicts of interest? - a. They are administered by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) - b. They are administered by the Public Health Service (PHS) - c. They are administered by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) - d. No federal agency has promulgated institutional conflict of interest regulations

d. No federal agency has promulgated institutional conflict of interest regulations

Which of the following is a standard management strategy for an institutional conflict of interest? - a. Contact the federal government so that it can decide the appropriate course of action - b. Contact the relevant state government so that it can decide the appropriate course of action - c. having the institution divest its interests in every private company - d. Restricting the conflicted individuals from making decisions connected to the institutional conflict of interest

d. Restricting the conflicted individuals from making decisions connected to the institutional conflict of interest