Chatbots, generative AI, and scholarly manuscripts: WAME recommendations on chatbots and generative artificial intelligence in relation to scholarly publications.

This statement revises our earlier "WAME Recommendations on ChatGPT and Chatbots in Relation to Scholarly Publications" (January 20, 2023). The revision reflects the proliferation of chatbots and their expanding use in scholarly publishing over the last few months, as well as emerging concerns regarding lack of authenticity of content when using chatbots. These recommendations are intended to inform editors and help them develop policies for the use of chatbots in papers published in their journals.

Developing and Testing an Evaluation Framework for Collaborative Mental Health Services in Primary Care Systems in Latin America.

To develop and pilot-test a feasible and meaningful evaluation framework to support the ongoing improvement and performance measurement of services and systems in Latin America regarding Collaborative Mental health Care (CMHC). This mixed methods study, guided by a developmental evaluation approach, included: (1) a critical review of the literature; (2) an environmental scan at three selected health networks in Mexico, Nicaragua and Chile; (3) a Delphi group with experts; (4) a final consultation in the three sites; and (5) a pilot-test of the framework. A comprehensive evaluation framework was developed and successfully piloted.

Erratum: Ethical issues in publishing in predatory journals.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.11613/BM.2017.

Ethical issues in publishing in predatory journals.

Predatory journals, or journals that charge an article processing charge (APC) to authors, yet do not have the hallmarks of legitimate scholarly journals such as peer review and editing, Editorial Boards, editorial offices, and other editorial standards, pose a number of new ethical issues in journal publishing. This paper discusses ethical issues around predatory journals and publishing in them. These issues include misrepresentation; lack of editorial and publishing standards and practices; academic deception; research and funding wasted; lack of archived content; and undermining confidence in research literature.

Ethics and Privacy Implications of Using the Internet and Social Media to Recruit Participants for Health Research: A Privacy-by-Design Framework for Online Recruitment.

Background: The Internet and social media offer promising ways to improve the reach, efficiency, and effectiveness of recruitment efforts at a reasonable cost, but raise unique ethical dilemmas. We describe how we used social media to recruit cancer patients and family caregivers for a research study, the ethical issues we encountered, and the strategies we developed to address them.

Objective: Drawing on the principles of Privacy by Design (PbD), a globally recognized standard for privacy protection, we aimed to develop a PbD framework for online health research recruitment.

Collaborative mental health services in primary care systems in Latin America: contextualized evaluation needs and opportunities.

Aim: This study examined Latin American evaluation needs regarding the development of a collaborative mental health care (CMHC) evaluation framework as seen by local key health-care leaders and professionals. Potential implementation challenges and opportunities were also identified.

Methods: This multisite research study used an embedded mixed methods approach in three public health networks in Mexico, Nicaragua and Chile.

Promoting Global Health.

The Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of MCH and AIDS (IJMA) is a member of the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME). The Editorial Board of IJMA believes it is important that the statement on promoting global health and this accompanying editorial is brought to the attention of our readers. Medical journal editors have a social responsibility to promote global health by publishing, whenever possible, research that furthers health worldwide.

What makes public health studies ethical? Dissolving the boundary between research and practice.

Background: The generation of evidence is integral to the work of public health and health service providers. Traditionally, ethics has been addressed differently in research projects, compared with other forms of evidence generation, such as quality improvement, program evaluation, and surveillance, with review of non-research activities falling outside the purview of the research ethics board. However, the boundaries between research and these other evaluative activities are not distinct.

What is the role of online support from the perspective of facilitators of face-to-face support groups? A multi-method study of the use of breast cancer online communities.

Objective: To explore the role of online communities from the perspective of breast cancer survivors who are facilitators of face-to-face support groups.

Methods: Seventy-three attendees (73% response rate) of a Canadian support group-training program completed a questionnaire examining when and why they used online communities. A purposive sample of 12 respondents was interviewed on how they used them in comparison to traditional supportive care.

Online communities for breast cancer survivors: a review and analysis of their characteristics and levels of use.

Purpose: Online communities have been heralded as one of the most promising health resources on the Internet. The purpose of this study was to identify the characteristics and levels of use of online communities for breast cancer survivors.

Methods: Using Google, we identified websites with a string of computer-mediated communication terms and individual queries of three to five words of online community terms.

Investigator experiences with financial conflicts of interest in clinical trials.

Background: Financial conflicts of interest (fCOI) can introduce actions that bias clinical trial results and reduce their objectivity. We obtained information from investigators about adherence to practices that minimize the introduction of such bias in their clinical trials experience.

Methods: Email survey of clinical trial investigators from Canadian sites to learn about adherence to practices that help maintain research independence across all stages of trial preparation, conduct, and dissemination.

An ecological process model of systems change.

In June 2007 the American Journal of Community Psychology published a special issue focused on theories, methods and interventions for systems change which included calls from the editors and authors for theoretical advancement in this field. We propose a conceptual model of systems change that integrates familiar and fundamental community psychology principles (succession, interdependence, cycling of resources, adaptation) and accentuates a process orientation. To situate our framework we offer a definition of systems change and a brief review of the ecological perspective and principles.

Patients' rights a case for a Charter of Participant Rights in Pre-Market Drug Trials: the next evolution.

Since the first publication of Medicine and Law thirty years ago, there have been significant international advances in patient rights and participant protections in clinical trials. Despite such advances, there are still alarming reports of actual or perceived breaches in ethical standards by Institutions, Investigators and Sponsors of pre-market drug clinical trials. This is particularly disturbing as these trials involve participants in the testing of an investigational drug before its full safety, effectiveness, and clinical outcomes are understood.