Evidence-Based Project
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Evidence-Based Project
Introduction
Clinical practice guidelines are important because they assist health care providers and patients to make sound decisions based on specific clinical situations. Furthermore, the guidelines play a significant role in policy formation in health care. The clinical practice guidelines provide along with the clinical recommendation, some methodologies, and strategies to ensure the successful implementation of such recommendations. The Appraisal of Guidelines for Research & Evaluation (AGREE) Instrument is useful in addressing issues regarding variability in guideline quality. The purpose of this paper is to use the AGREE II instrument (DOMAIN 6) to appraise the provided guideline.
The views of the funding body have not influenced the content of the guideline
This particular element of the clinical practice guideline is rated as strongly disagree. The name of the funding body is the American Diabetes Association (ADA). The ADA’s Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes is updated and published yearly by the same institution, therefore, it is the funding body. However, there is no statement stating that the funding body did not influence the content of the guideline. It is for this reason that the rating was marked as strongly disagree. Looking at some additional considerations, the item funding section is not well written and not easy to locate in the guideline. Furthermore, the guideline did not mention whether there is a group developed to address issues related to influence from the funding body. Based on the information contained in the clinical practice guideline, this criterion was not addressed following the guidelines of the AGREE II instrument.
Competing interests of guideline development group members have been recorded and addressed
This is the second criterion under DOMAIN 6. EDITORIAL INDEPENDENCE. This particular element of the clinical practice guideline is assigned a score of 5. The clinical practice guideline is cognizant of possible conflicts of interest. However, the descriptions of the types of competing interests were not provided. The names of professionals who raised the conflicting interests are provided but the types of competing interests are not mentioned. Since the specific conflicting interests were not disclosed, it is not known how each of them was handled.
The completing interest influenced the guideline process and development of recommendations. For instance, the ADA is compliant with the National Academy of Medicine Standards for Developing Trustworthy Clinical Practice Guidelines. All the members of the ADA’s professional practice committee (PPC) share potential conflicts of interest with industry and other relevant organizations. These disclosures are discussed at the outset of each standard of Care revision meeting. Looking at the additional considerations, this part was documented fairly well. The content is not easy to locate in the guideline. To minimize the influence of competing interests, the PPC discusses the identified conflicts of interest and makes necessary revisions at the end of every year.
Conclusion
Clinical practice guidelines help care providers to make rational clinical decisions. The ADA’s Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes provides recommendations for the treatment and prevention of the disease. The Appraisal of Guidelines for Research & Evaluation (AGREE) Instrument is used to appraise various guidelines. These instruments have six domains used to evaluate the guidelines. this paper focused on domain 6 to appraise the ADA’s Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes.
References
ADA. (2020). Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes-2020. American Diabetes Association. https://www.sochob.cl/web1/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Standards-of-MEdical-Care-in-Diabetes-2020.pdf