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Article History

Received: 29 May 2025

Accepted: 8 October 2025

First Online: 3 December 2025

Declarations

:

: This study is based on voluntary, anonymous, self-administered surveys of medical professionals and involves no intervention or collection of personal or sensitive data. In accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR), the Spanish Organic Law 3/2018 (LOPDGDD), Law 14/2007 on Biomedical Research, and guidance from the Spanish Bioethics Committee (2019), anonymous non-interventional studies without access to identifiable data do not require Research Ethics Committee (REC) review or formal written informed consent. Accordingly, this study complies with fundamental ethical principles and this statement serves as an appropriate declaration of ethical responsibility by the investigator.Formal written informed consent was not required because no personal data were collected and participation was entirely anonymous. Under the GDPR and LOPDGDD, consent is only needed for processing identifiable personal data. Law 14/2007 on Biomedical Research and the Declaration of Helsinki (WMA, 2013) allow exceptions to written consent in minimal-risk studies where participants are fully informed and anonymity is preserved. In this study, participants were clearly informed of the voluntary nature of their participation via the introductory message of the survey which states: "Participation in this survey is completely voluntary, and choosing not to participate will not result in any negative consequences. In a second phase, the publication of survey results may be considered to disseminate knowledge in this field and promote improvements in healthcare for older adults living with HIV. Your voluntary participation in this survey constitutes your implied consent to the use of the results. Thank you for your participation." This information complies with ethical principles of transparency and autonomy, and justifies the use of implicit (tacit) informed consent. Based on the above considerations, and in line with the applicable European and Spanish legislation and ethical standards, the study does not require formal written informed consent, as it collects no personal data, clearly informs participants in advance, and relies on voluntary and anonymous participation as a valid expression of consent.

: Not applicable

: The authors declare no competing interests.