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Table 2 Process characteristics

From: Guidelines for guideline developers: a systematic review of grading systems for medical tests

No.

Category/sub category

Definition

Process characteristics: basic guideline requirements relating to the guideline development process

1

Scope & purpose

 

1a

Overall aim

The overall aim of system is explicit. The system is specific to medical tests

2

Stakeholders

 

2a

Relevant professional groups

The system requires involvement of relevant professional groups

2b

Piloted among users

The system has been piloted among guideline developers and reports on user feedback

3

Clarity & presentation

 

3a

Clear organization and content layout

The system contains a chronological description of the process for developing guidelines.

3b

Recommendations easily identifiable

The system promotes a clear and structured layout for presenting recommendations e.g., summarized in a box, typed in bold, underlined or presented as flow charts or algorithms

3c

Examples provided

The system provides adequate examples in the form of, tables, forms, layouts of evidence summaries e.g., in GRADE known as ‘’evidence profile’

3d

Glossary

The system includes a glossary explaining terminology

4

Dissemination & communication

 

4a

External peer review recommended

The system recommends external peer review of completed guidelines

4b

Recommends methods for dissemination

The system recommends methods for dissemination and communicated of completed guidelines to target audience(s)

4c

Procedure for updating guideline

The system provides an explicit procedure for updating the guideline

5

Editorial independence

 

5a

Addresses conflicts of interest

The system specifies the need to address conflicts of interest of guideline members and information on funding

5b

Addresses funders

Total

5 categories/12 subcategories

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