The EASE Form for Authors’ Contributions and Competing Interest Disclosure

By signing the form, the authors agree to publication of their paper in the journal and certify that the paper is not considered for publication elsewhere.

The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) has useful guidance on what constitutes authorship of a paper:

• Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work;
• Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content;
• Final approval of the version to be published;
• Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolve

As research can be highly collaborative including teams of researchers with varied contributions to a paper, this form adopts the 14 roles of the Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT) to better recognise the different types of individual contributions, reduce authorship disputes and facilitate collaboration. Details of each category are provided on the final page.

Authors should also declare any competing interests they may have, that may influence details of the paper or interpretation of it. Details of competing interests are provided based on the categories of the ICMJE Disclosure of Interest Statement.

Declaring conflicting interests is intended to enhance transparency, and does not necessarily imply any bias in the work. If you are in doubt as to whether a relationship constitutes a competing interest, it is preferable to declare it.

The corresponding author should complete the tables in this document;

• Form 1. Provide details of the manuscript under submission;
• Form 2. Name each contributing author, indicating one or more roles for each by ticking the appropriate checkboxes in each category;
• Form 3. Provide conflicts of interest statements for any relevant authors.

Examples of competing interests to declare

Details of all support provided during the planning and preparation of the present manuscript (e.g., funding, provision of study materials, medical writing, article processing charges, etc.)

Details of relationships or activity over the past 36 months:

• Grants or contracts from any entity
• Royalties or licenses
• Consulting fees
• Payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events
• Payment for expert testimony
• Support for attending meetings and/or travel
• Patents planned, issued or pending
• Participation on a Data Safety Monitoring Board or Advisory Board
• Leadership or fiduciary role in other board, society, committee or advocacy group, paid or unpaid
• Stock or stock options
• Receipt of equipment, materials, drugs, medical writing, gifts or other services
• Other financial or non-financial interests

Explanation of Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT)