Carmona, C. orcid.org/0000-0001-9855-3575, Baxter, S. orcid.org/0000-0002-6034-5495 and Carroll, C. orcid.org/0000-0002-6361-6182 (2021) Systematic review of the methodological literature for integrating qualitative evidence syntheses into health guideline development. Research Synthesis Methods, 12 (4). pp. 491-505. ISSN 1759-2879
Abstract
Guidelines produced by local, national and international bodies underpin clinical practice and healthcare services worldwide. For guidelines to be based on the best available evidence, it is critical that syntheses of both qualitative and quantitative evidence are used to inform decision‐making. As methods for qualitative evidence syntheses (QES) develop, they are increasingly able to inform health guideline production. However, the process whereby this form of evidence is considered and incorporated tends to be unclear. This systematic review synthesized existing guidance concerning the use of QES in guideline development. Sources published in English that described or prescribed methods for incorporating QES into evidence‐based health guidelines were eligible for inclusion. Seventeen relevant papers were identified. The literature indicates that there is a reasonable consensus about many stages of conducting a QES to inform guideline development. Areas needing further exploration include: the way that committees engage with QES; the usefulness of different QES methodologies; and understanding of how expert committees use evidence. Methods for producing QES for guideline committees tend to be similar to quantitative systematic review methods in terms of searching, quality appraisal, systematic management of data, and presentation of results. While this allows transparency and accountability, it could be argued that it is less “true” to the principles of being led by the data, which are fundamental to most qualitative research. Understanding the process of using QES to produce guidelines is critical to determining their validity and applicability, and to ensure that healthcare provision is based on the best available evidence.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2021 The Authors. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made. |
Keywords: | health guidelines; qualitative evidence synthesis; systematic review |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health (Sheffield) > School of Health and Related Research (Sheffield) > ScHARR - Sheffield Centre for Health and Related Research |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 12 Mar 2021 13:48 |
Last Modified: | 15 Feb 2022 14:07 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1002/jrsm.1483 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:171637 |