Cross-disciplinary openness and transparency of research plays an important role in scientific progress. We evaluated open-science related policies of 19 high ranking health and medical journals before (February 2020) and during (May 2021) the COVID-19 pandemic. The Transparency and Openness Promotion (TOP) guideline and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) requirements for disclosing conflicts of interest (COIs) were used to audit journal policies. TOP scores slightly improved during the COVID-19 pandemic, from a median of 5 (IQR: 2-12.5) out of a possible 24 points in February 2020 to 7 (IQR: 4-12) in May 2021. Most journals fulfilled all ICMJE provisions for reporting COIs before (84%; n=16) and during (95%; n=18) the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of practising open science, however adherence to open science standards in audited policies was low overall, which may reduce progress in health and medical research.
Open science policies of medical and health sciences journals before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: a repeat cross-sectional study