Article Figures & Tables
Tables
- Table 1:
Criteria for selecting topics for recommendations of the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care
Criteria Explanation Source of information* Stage 1: Developing a short list of potential topics Timing of most recent review Priority is given to topics that have not been examined by the task force within the past 5 years. Availability of new evidence Priority is given to topics for which new or controversial evidence, which might lead to a change in existing recommendations, has emerged since the last time the topic was reviewed by the task force. Input from primary care practitioners Priority is given to topics that will address the needs of primary care practitioners. Stage 2: Ranking the final leading topics Disease burden Prevalence, mortality, comorbidity, quality of life and expected effectiveness of the preventive service in decreasing that burden are assessed. Summaries of literature reviews and stakeholder consultations are developed and provided. Potential impact of recommendations in clinical practice Rating is done of whether there is the potential of a recommendation in a field to improve clinical practice and patient outcomes. Summary of stakeholder consultations is developed and provided. Interest of the public or care providers Priority is given to topics that have been recommended by practitioners or stakeholders. Summary of stakeholder consultations is developed and provided. Variation in care Priority is given to preventive services that have the potential to decrease variations in care. Summaries of literature reviews and stakeholder consultations are developed and provided. Sufficiency of evidence A preliminary scan is conducted to determine whether there is evidence to answer key research questions. Summary of literature reviews is developed and provided. New evidence Priority is given especially to high-quality evidence in a stable field. Summaries of literature reviews and stakeholder consultations are developed and provided. ↵* This information is developed by the task force scientific officers with assistance from the Evidence Review and Synthesis Centre, and is provided to the topic prioritization work group.
- Table 2:
Comparison of methods currently used by major international guideline-producing bodies
Guideline group Topic selection Conflicts of interest Members Stakeholder involvement Review process Method for summarizing evidence WHO (9) Topics recommended internally by WHO departments Declared and published Different group for each guideline
Groups are multidisciplinary and include content experts, methodologists and end users; consumer involvement is encouragedReview documents and participate in guideline work group Research questions (experts and end users)
Systematic review protocol and evidence tables (experts)
Guidelines (experts and organizational reviewers)GRADE US Preventive Services Task Force (8) Topics nominated by the public, task force members and stakeholders Declared, not published Multidisciplinary panel of 16 health-related disciplines, nominated for 4-year term
No consumers in the guideline work groupReview and disseminate documents
Briefing webinars offered on all guidelines
New methods of stakeholder involvement are being testedPublic comment on research plans, evidence review, guidelines Recommendations graded as A, B, C or D reflecting whether the service is recommended
“I” statements used if evidence is insufficient to make a recommendationNational Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (10) Topics selected by Department of Health but based on input from clinicians and public Declared and published Clinical group differs for each guideline; technical members (search, research, synthesis) are constant
Groups include health professionals, patient and caregiver representatives and registered stakeholdersInvolved in all steps throughout the process and as members of guideline work group Dissemination Public consultation, peer review Modified GRADE
Recommendations are not rated as strong or weakCanadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care Topics nominated by public, task force members, stakeholders, literature review Declared and posted on website Multidisciplinary panel of 14 methodologic, primary care and guideline experts, nominated for 3-year term
Subset of a minimum of 3 task force members in each guideline work group
No consumers in guideline work groupTopic selection, review of documents Research question
Systematic review protocol
Evidence report and guidelines reviewed by experts, and subject-matter and generalist organizationsGRADE Note: GRADE = Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation, WHO = World Health Organization.