Article type
Year
Abstract
Background: The GRADE (Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation) approach provides guidance for grading the quality of underlying evidence and the strength of recommendations in health care (1). This approach possesses well known merits when it is compared with other systems in terms of explicit and comprehensive criteria for downgrading or upgrading quality of evidence and a balance between simplicity and methodological comprehensiveness, among others (2,3). However nowadays, the GRADE approach lacks a structured format for evidence profile, and for factors and criteria to grade the quality of evidence for scales used for measuring factors in medicine.
Objective: To present a framework for the use of the GRADE approach in measurement scale studies.
Methods: The format, the factors and criteria than can affect the quality of evidence for the scales were developed based on information about each component that must be taken into account when a scale is evaluated for use in medicine (4). Concepts related to measurement scales were critically appraised, discussed and incorporated providing the basis for four factors that should be taken in account when grading the quality of evidence (5,6). Finally, the criteria that can be useful at the point of evaluation for each of these four factors were defined based on the available literature (4,5,6). This approach was validated during the development of the clinical practice guideline for the diagnostic, treatment and rehabilitation of patients with acute ischemic stroke in Colombia (7).
Results: The factors identified for the assessments are: validity, reliability, responsiveness and utility. We present a format, the factors and criteria for grading the quality of evidence in measurement scales (Table 1).
Conclusion: We provide specific and concrete guidance about the factors and criteria that can affect the quality of evidence. We expect that this guidance will facilitate the interpretation of evidence and enhance its incorporation into systematic reviews, Health Technology Assessments and the Clinical Practice Guidelines context.
Objective: To present a framework for the use of the GRADE approach in measurement scale studies.
Methods: The format, the factors and criteria than can affect the quality of evidence for the scales were developed based on information about each component that must be taken into account when a scale is evaluated for use in medicine (4). Concepts related to measurement scales were critically appraised, discussed and incorporated providing the basis for four factors that should be taken in account when grading the quality of evidence (5,6). Finally, the criteria that can be useful at the point of evaluation for each of these four factors were defined based on the available literature (4,5,6). This approach was validated during the development of the clinical practice guideline for the diagnostic, treatment and rehabilitation of patients with acute ischemic stroke in Colombia (7).
Results: The factors identified for the assessments are: validity, reliability, responsiveness and utility. We present a format, the factors and criteria for grading the quality of evidence in measurement scales (Table 1).
Conclusion: We provide specific and concrete guidance about the factors and criteria that can affect the quality of evidence. We expect that this guidance will facilitate the interpretation of evidence and enhance its incorporation into systematic reviews, Health Technology Assessments and the Clinical Practice Guidelines context.