Multi-stakeholder engagement in guideline development

Article type
Authors
Petkovic J1, Welch V2, Akl E3, Concannon T4, Schunemann H5, Maxwell L6, Lyddiatt A7, Synnot A8, Pardo Pardo J9, Morley R10, Pottie K11, Tugwell P11
1Campbell and Cochrane Equity Methods Group
2Campbell Collaboration
3American University of Beirut
4Rand Corporation
5McMaster University
6Cochrane Musculoskeletal Group
7Patient Partner
8Cochrane Consumers and Communication
9Cochrane Musculoskeletal
10Cochrane Consumer Network
11University of Ottawa
Abstract
Background:
Stakeholder engagement has become widely accepted in the production of credible and transparent guidelines. In guideline development, stakeholder engagement is critical to acceptability of the guideline, support for its uptake, and adherence to any treatments recommended. We define stakeholders as those whose input can enhance the relevance and uptake of research, including patients, healthcare providers, health-system payers, product makers, the public, the press, policy makers, researchers, and research funders.

Objectives:
This project aims to identify barriers and facilitators to stakeholder engagement in guideline development; develop guidance on how to identify stakeholders, as well as when and how to include them; and finally, develop an evaluation framework for stakeholder engagement.

Methods:
This is a seven-phase project. It includes four systematic reviews to assess:
1) Barriers and facilitators to stakeholder engagement;
2) Existing frameworks for guideline development;
3) The impact of stakeholder engagement; and
4) Issues related to conflicts of interest.
These systematic reviews, along with key informant interviews and an online Delphi survey, will be used to develop guidance on how to identify, engage, and involve stakeholders in guideline development. We will then develop an evaluation framework for stakeholder engagement in guideline development.

Results:
We will present the proposed methods and preliminary results of the first three phases (systematic reviews one to three described above).

Patient or healthcare consumer involvement:
We have developed this project plan with input from our international working group and steering group which includes stakeholders representing the groups described above. This steering group has provided input in all aspects of the project plan, for example, they have participated in defining ‘stakeholders’ and ‘engagement’. They will provide advice and collaborate in refining the systematic review questions, reviewing search strategies, interpreting results, and developing the guidance and evaluation framework in collaboration with the rest of the
team.