Use of Evidence to Decision frameworks in the European Breast Guidelines: increasing stakeholder involvement and transparency

Article type
Authors
Saz Parkinson Z1, Parmelli E1, Schünemann H2
1European Commission, Joint Research Centre
2McMaster
Abstract
Background:
Recently, there has been an increasing demand from stakeholders for broader participation of patients - and a greater transparency - in the guideline development process.
Use of explicit and transparent systems in the decision making process can help ensure that, in addition to using the best available research evidence, all important criteria for making a decision are considered. The GRADE Evidence to Decision (EtD) framework was developed in this context within an EU-funded project DECIDE (Developing and Evaluating Communication Strategies to Support Informed Decisions and Practice Based on Evidence). The project goal was to enable different groups of people to navigate in a structured and transparent manner from evidence to decisions, decisions and recommendations in the context of clinical recommendations, coverage decisions, and health system or public health.
The European Commission Initiative on Breast Cancer (ECIBC) aims to ensure and harmonise the quality of breast cancer services across European countries. One of the pillars of this initiative is the development of evidence-based guidelines on breast cancer screening and diagnosis (the European Breast Guidelines) using this robust and transparent methodology.
Objectives:
The main objective of this workshop is to provide participants with practical knowledge of GRADE and EtDs for a transparent guideline development process, as used in the European Breast Guidelines, especially for:
- outcome selection and prioritisation, involving different stakeholders - particularly patients - prior to performing the evidence synthesis;
- using EtD frameworks to reach an informed and transparent decision;
Description:
The proposed structure of the workshop is:
- an introduction to EtD frameworks (20 minutes);
- selection of outcomes and rating/prioritising them using a healthcare question example in groups (25 minutes);
- Group work on an EtD framework example from the European Breast Guidelines (45 minutes).
Since interactive activities will be group work using GRADEpro software, it is hoped that participants will bring a laptop.
The main outcome of the workshop will be:
- provision of an insight into how the guideline development process can be carried out and presented in a more structured manner that is transparent for all stakeholders involved.