Informed consent policy

 

Manuscripts describing research involving animals

For any submissions of original research involving animals, authors must have sought consent from owners for their animals to participate in the research study. Manuscripts describing research involving animals:

  • Informed client consent is required for all prospective research. Consent for admission to hospital, diagnostic investigations and/or treatment is not equivalent to explicit informed client consent for research.
  • For retrospective studies, consent may be needed in some cases. While it is not required when only reviewing existing medical records. It is generally considered good practice to have permission to use clinical data in research included in the standard consent form for treatment in a format that enables clients to opt out if they wish. Example wording can be found on the RCVS website: Consent Form: Use of data, samples in retrospective studies. In all cases client confidentiality must be maintained, and authors should select photographs and video material with care to ensure that animal owners/agents cannot be identified specifically.
  • Personal data must be handled to prevent identification of individuals (e.g. by avoiding specific gender or location details that could reveal identity). In epidemiological studies, identifiers like postcode should be limited (e.g. only the first half). If there is a risk of identification, such as in single-practice studies, signed consent for publication is required. For further information, see the RCVS Ethics Review Panel (ERP) Guidance on Informed Consent for Clinical Veterinary Research.

 

Manuscripts describing research involving people

For any submissions of original research involving human participants, such as veterinary staff or clients, authors are required to obtain informed consent from study participants and follow the ICMJE requirements on privacy..

Ethics approval should be sought from a recognised ethics review panel such as from the University or RCVS, and to provide documentation when requested by Veterinary Evidence.

Authors must include a statement to confirm that any participant in research of any kind has given informed consent to participate in the research. If an individual can be potentially identified, authors must include a statement to confirm that they have obtained written informed consent to publish the details relating to that individual. For participants who are not adults or who are unable to give informed consent, their parent or guardian must give consent. For participants who are deceased, their next of kin must give consent.

Personal data must be handled to prevent identification of individuals (e.g. by avoiding specific gender or location details that could reveal identity). In epidemiological studies, identifiers like postcode should be limited (e.g. only the first half). If there is a risk of identification, such as in single-practice studies, signed consent for publication is required. For further information, see the RCVS Ethics Review Panel (ERP) Guidance on Informed Consent for Clinical Veterinary Research.

The process of obtaining consent to publish includes sharing the article with the individual (or whoever is consenting on their behalf), so that they are fully aware of the content of the article before it is published.

Authors must keep a copy of any completed and signed informed consent forms and be able to share the forms with the Veterinary Evidence editorial office if requested.

Example statements

Consent to participate

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Informed consent was obtained by the/parent/guardian/next of kin.

Consent to publish

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants/the/parent/guardian/next of kin for submission to the Veterinary Evidence journal.