Table 2.
Prevalence of ethics policies in Eastern EU (n = 57) and South-East Europe (n = 11)
| Ethics policy | Journals from Eastern EU (%) | Journals from South-East Europe (%) | Chi square, P |
|---|---|---|---|
| Endorsement of international standards | 10 (18 %) | 9 (82 %) | 18.90, P < 0.001 |
| Description of process of manuscript evaluation | 43 (75 %) | 9 (82 %) | 0.209, P = 0.648 |
| Redundant publication | 43 (75 %) | 7 (64 %) | 0.660, P = 0.417 |
| Authorship policy | 23 (40 %) | 7 (64 %) | 2.03, P = 0.154 |
| Contributorship policy | 9 (16 %) | 6 (55 %) | 8.06, P = 0.005 |
| Conflicts of interest | 21 (37 %) | 6 (55 %) | 1.21, P = 0.272 |
| Requirements on disclosure of sources of financial support | 16 (28 %) | 4 (36 %) | 0.305, P = 0.580 |
| Requirements on ethical conduct of biomedical research with human subjects | 26 (46 %) | 8 (73 %) | 2.71, P = 0.100 |
| Requirements on ethical conduct of biomedical research with non-human subjects | 27 (47 %) | 3 (27 %) | 1.51, P = 0.219 |
| Ethical review by institutional review board | 25 (44 %) | 3 (27 %) | 1.05, P = 0.306 |
| Mandatory registration of clinical trials | 1 (2 %) | 1 (9 %) | 1.74, P = 0.187 |
| Privacy rights and confidentiality statements | 11 (19 %) | 5 (45 %) | 3.51, P = 0.061 |
| Copyright or license-to-publish | 37 (65 %) | 3 (27 %) | 5.39, P = 0.020 |
| Image manipulation | 0 (0 %) | 2 (18 %) | 10.70, P = 0.001 |
| Conflicts of editors as authors in own journals | 1 (2 %) | 1 (9 %) | 1.74, P = 0.187 |