Media Portrayal of Conflicts of Interest in Herbal Remedy Clinical Trials

• Author(s) / Creator(s)

  • Bubela, Tania
  • Caulfield, Timothy
  • Koper, Megan
  • Boon, Heather

• Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) encompasses a wide variety of treatments, such as herbal remedies, not currently thought to be part of mainstream medicine. Our study focuses on herbal remedies, as their use is significant and increasing. We ask whether media coverage of conflicts of interest in clinical trials of herbal remedies is of sufficient quality to provide the public with information to make decisions that are rational, well-informed, and low-risk. We know that the vast quantity of information available on CAM through popular media is of varying quality. In recent years, the scientific community is increasingly interested in studying herbal remedies. As conflict of interest has been an issue in synthetic drug trials, especially those receiving funding from industry, we have reason to believe that this will also be true of clinical trials of herbal remedies, many of which are industry funded.

• Date created

  2014-11-12

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Clinical Trials as Topic
  • Mass Media
  • Conflict of Interest--economics
  • Phytotherapy
  • Journalism, Medical
  • Newspapers

• Type of Item

  Research Material

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3M00F

• License

  © 2006 Health Law Institute, University of Alberta. This version of this article is open access and can be downloaded and shared. The original author and source must be cited.