Methodological approaches for developing, reporting, and assessing evidence-based clinical practice guidelines: a systematic survey

Xiaomei Yao; Jun Xia; Yinghui Jin; Quan Shen; Qi Wang; Ying Zhu; Sheila McNair; Jonathan Sussman; Zhiwen Wang; Ivan D Florez; Xian-Tao Zeng; Melissa Brouwers

doi:10.1016/j.jclinepi.2022.02.015

Methodological approaches for developing, reporting, and assessing evidence-based clinical practice guidelines: a systematic survey

J Clin Epidemiol. 2022 Jun:146:77-85. doi: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2022.02.015. Epub 2022 Mar 8.

Authors

Xiaomei Yao¹, Jun Xia², Yinghui Jin³, Quan Shen⁴, Qi Wang⁵, Ying Zhu⁵, Sheila McNair⁶, Jonathan Sussman⁶, Zhiwen Wang⁷, Ivan D Florez⁸, Xian-Tao Zeng⁹, Melissa Brouwers¹⁰

Affiliations

¹ Department of Oncology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; Center for Clinical Practice Guideline Conduction and Evaluation, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
² Nottingham Ningbo GRADE Centre, The University of Nottingham Ningbo, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China; School of Medicine, The University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom.
³ Center for Evidence-Based and Translational Medicine, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
⁴ School of Health Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
⁵ Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
⁶ Department of Oncology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
⁷ School of Nursing, Health Science Centre for Evidence-Based Nursing, Peking University School of Nursing, Beijing, China.
⁸ Department of Pediatrics, University of Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia; School of Rehabilitation Science, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Electronic address: ivan.florez@udea.edu.co.
⁹ Center for Evidence-Based and Translational Medicine, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei, China. Electronic address: zengxiantao1128@whu.edu.cn.
¹⁰ Department of Oncology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; School of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

PMID: 35271968
DOI: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2022.02.015

Abstract

Objective: To produce a mapping and feature summary of approaches and tools available for the clinical practice guideline (CPG) community to develop, report, or assess four types of CPGs: (1) Standard original (or de novo) CPGs, (2) Rapid original CPGs, (3) Adapted/adopted CPGs, and (4) Updated CPGs.

Study design: The systematic literature search was conducted using Embase and PubMed, covering the period from January 2010 to October 13, 2020. Two websites that collect and recommend approaches/tools to develop, report, or assess CPGs were also searched: Guidelines International Network and Equator Network. We screened the search results to include methodological papers that aimed to develop specific approaches/tools to develop, report, or assess any of the aforementioned four CPG types.

Results: Among 10,581 citations, 46 papers reporting 46 approaches/tools were included. Of these 46 approaches/tools, 33 were about CPG development, seven were for CPG reporting, and six for CPG assessment. Among the 33 development approaches/tools, 26 did not state usability or validity information; but nine from 13 reporting or assessment approaches/tools did.

Conclusions: This study provides an overall summary of the currently available approaches/tools, which serves to improve users' understanding to pave the way for informed choice and application.

Keywords: Assessment; Clinical practice guidelines; Development; Methodology; Report; Systematic survey.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Delivery of Health Care*
Evidence-Based Medicine*
Evidence-Based Practice
Humans
Research Report