Building consensus on interactions between population health researchers and the food industry: Two-stage, online, international Delphi study and stakeholder survey

Key to scientific integrity is ensuring that research findings are considered credible by scientific peers, practitioners, policymakers and the public. Industry sponsorship of nutritional research can result in bias and raises significant professional, public and media concern. Yet, there is no international consensus on how to prevent or manage conflicts of interest for researchers considering engaging with the food industry. This study aimed to determine internationally agreed principles to guide interactions between population health researchers and the food industry to prevent or manage conflicts of interest. We used a two-stage, online Delphi study for researchers (n = 100 in 28 countries), and an online survey for stakeholders (n = 84 in 26 countries). Levels of agreement were sought with 56 principles derived from a systematic review. Respondent comments were analysed using qualitative content analysis. High levels of agreement on principles were achieved for both groups (researchers 68%; stakeholders 65%). Highest levels of agreement were with principles concerning research methods and governance. More contentious were principles that required values-based decision-making, such as determining which elements of the commercial sector are acceptable to interact with. These results provide the basis for developing internationally-agreed guidelines for population health researchers governing interactions with the food industry.

科研诚信的核心在于确保研究成果能够获得科研同行、实务工作者、政策制定者及社会公众的认可与信赖。企业赞助营养研究可能引发研究偏倚，并引发学界、公众与媒体的广泛担忧。然而，针对涉及食品行业的研究人员如何防范或化解利益冲突这一问题，目前尚未形成国际共识。本研究旨在确立一套经国际共识认可的原则，用以规范人群健康研究人员与食品行业之间的互动行为，从而防范或化解相关利益冲突。研究采用两阶段在线德尔菲（Delphi）法面向研究人员开展调研（来自28个国家共100名受访者），同时面向利益相关方开展在线问卷调查（来自26个国家共84名受访者）。本研究针对从系统综述中提炼出的56项原则，调研了受访者的认同程度。研究采用质性内容分析法对受访者的反馈意见进行了分析。两组受访者均对多数研究原则达成了高度认同：研究人员群体认同率为68%，利益相关方群体为65%。其中，有关研究方法与治理规范的原则获得了最高的认同度。而涉及基于价值判断的决策原则则争议性更强，例如判定商业领域中哪些主体可与之开展互动。本研究结果为制定面向人群健康研究人员、用以规范其与食品行业互动行为的国际统一指南奠定了基础。