Re-emphasizing the need to register clinical trials prospectively—A Joint Policy Statement from editors-in-chief of two leading Psychiatry Journals in India

"Both the Indian Journal of Psychiatry (IJP) and the Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine (IJPM) have a policy of prior registration of intervention studies in place. However, the current editorial serves to re-emphasize the policy, clarify the reason and the implications of such a policy to the authors and researchers, and adds specific guidelines in this regard which need to be strictly adhered to henceforth. Guidelines for submitting intervention studies in any form to the IJP and the IJPM:

1. Prospective registration: Any interventional study that is submitted should be registered prospectively with CTRI or any registry which is a primary register of the WHO IRCTP.
2. Proof at the time of submission: When authors submit a manuscript, they are required to include the name of the registry, the registration number, and the date of registration in accordance with ICMJE policy. The trial registration number, name of registry and the link (url) to the registry should be mentioned at the end of the abstract.
3. Adherence to protocols and outcomes: Authors need to disclose any changes they make to the registered protocol. Not being upfront about changes to outcomes will be viewed as a serious reporting issue."