Publication on Conflict of Interest in Trials of Internet-Based Interventions for Depression
In a new systematic review and meta-regression, randomized clinical trials of internet-based interventions for depression were examined to assess the prevalence of industry sponsorship, researchers’ financial conflicts of interest, and researcher allegiance. The study also investigated whether these factors are associated with reported treatment effects. The findings indicate that such factors should receive more attention in research and that current meta-analytic efficacy estimates of self-guided internet-based interventions for depression may be overestimated.