Wangler, Julian
Claus, Stefan
Jansky, Michael
Funding for this research was provided by:
Universitätsmedizin der Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz
Article History
Received: 17 March 2021
Accepted: 11 May 2021
First Online: 29 June 2021
Declarations
:
: J. Wangler, S. Claus and M. Jansky declare that they have no competing interests.
: This paper contains no data from tests conducted on humans or animals. All procedures performed in studies involving human participants or on human tissue were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1975 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. During this study, no sensitive patient data was gathered or clinical tests performed. This is a strictly anonymised survey of a total of 313 gastroenterological specialist practices. However, the authors of the study contacted the Ethics Commission of the State of Rhineland-Palatinate before beginning the study to ensure that it conformed with the medical professional code of conduct. The Ethics Commission informed us that approval by an ethics committee was not necessary for a survey study which does not involve patient data and is anonymous. Written informed consent for participation was obtained from all participants before the start of the study. Before the actual survey started, the respondents received information about the aim and purpose of the study on the first page of the online questionnaire and were informed that it was an anonymous survey in accordance with the existing data protection standards. Furthermore, it was made clear that the data will only be used for scientific purposes. Acknowledgment and consent to the conditions of the survey was given; only then was it possible to begin the survey.