Article type
Abstract
Background
In September 2023, 2 events were held in Edinburgh and Glasgow, covering Guideline Development: the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) Symposium and Guidelines International Network (GIN) Conference.
Objective
This paper explores themes arising at each event to provide insight into the challenges guideline development faces to place knowledge and clinical practice on a secure footing.
Methods
Our content analysis draws from presentations at the SIGN Symposium and GIN Conference in 2023. We coded themes in one of 2 ways: 1) deductively, using the broad categorizations from each event, or 2) inductively, with themes being drawn from the data. We then categorized these as referring to 1) environmental challenges, 2) human systems, or 3) technical solutions.
Results
Our analysis highlighted the following:
1) Environmental challenges included the excessive amount of unreliable information (infodemic); risks to health and health care, including the challenge of multimorbidity; recovery post–Covid pandemic; the climate emergency; and the sustainability challenge in providing health care.
2) Human systems covered person-centered care, values and preferences, decision-making, and collaboration. Guideline development was centered on the patient and health care provider(s). Trusted information and trustworthy consensus-based statements were compared with misinformation and disinformation.
3) Technological solutions included artificial Intelligence, digital personalization, real-world data, guideline development, the impact of guidelines, and implementation. These have challenges as well as benefits.
Discussion
Health care and guideline development worldwide face similar environmental challenges. Technological solutions, while supportive, are not always a panacea, often adding to rather than reducing burdens. The involvement of people in the guideline development process is crucial, but human systems are struggling with the infodemic and diminishing resources of time and money. These threats are undermining guideline development, indicating that the status quo is no longer viable.
Placing knowledge and clinical practice on a secure footing will require an approach that maintains the benefits that patients and professionals bring to the process while reaping the benefits of technology in a judicious way. The endpoint might be a new paradigm for guideline development. Our immediate task is to consider how feasible this is, without creating a cumbersome industry in the process.
In September 2023, 2 events were held in Edinburgh and Glasgow, covering Guideline Development: the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) Symposium and Guidelines International Network (GIN) Conference.
Objective
This paper explores themes arising at each event to provide insight into the challenges guideline development faces to place knowledge and clinical practice on a secure footing.
Methods
Our content analysis draws from presentations at the SIGN Symposium and GIN Conference in 2023. We coded themes in one of 2 ways: 1) deductively, using the broad categorizations from each event, or 2) inductively, with themes being drawn from the data. We then categorized these as referring to 1) environmental challenges, 2) human systems, or 3) technical solutions.
Results
Our analysis highlighted the following:
1) Environmental challenges included the excessive amount of unreliable information (infodemic); risks to health and health care, including the challenge of multimorbidity; recovery post–Covid pandemic; the climate emergency; and the sustainability challenge in providing health care.
2) Human systems covered person-centered care, values and preferences, decision-making, and collaboration. Guideline development was centered on the patient and health care provider(s). Trusted information and trustworthy consensus-based statements were compared with misinformation and disinformation.
3) Technological solutions included artificial Intelligence, digital personalization, real-world data, guideline development, the impact of guidelines, and implementation. These have challenges as well as benefits.
Discussion
Health care and guideline development worldwide face similar environmental challenges. Technological solutions, while supportive, are not always a panacea, often adding to rather than reducing burdens. The involvement of people in the guideline development process is crucial, but human systems are struggling with the infodemic and diminishing resources of time and money. These threats are undermining guideline development, indicating that the status quo is no longer viable.
Placing knowledge and clinical practice on a secure footing will require an approach that maintains the benefits that patients and professionals bring to the process while reaping the benefits of technology in a judicious way. The endpoint might be a new paradigm for guideline development. Our immediate task is to consider how feasible this is, without creating a cumbersome industry in the process.