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

Workshop category: 

  • Understanding and using evidence
Date and Location

Date: 

Monday 17 September 2018 - 11:00 to 12:30

Location: 

Lammermuir 2
Contact persons and facilitators

Contact person:

Zuleika Saz Parkinson

Facilitators:

Saz Parkinson Z1, Parmelli E1, Schünemann H2
1 European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Italy
2 McMaster, Canada
Target audience

Target audience: 

guideline development professionals, patients, researchers and policy makers

Level of difficulty: 

Intermediate
Type of workshop

Type of workshop : 

Training
Abstract

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.

Relevance to patients and consumers: 

One of the main objectives of the European Breast Guidelines, within the European Commission Initiative on Breast Cancer, is to provide breast cancer patients, professionals, policy makers, stakeholders and citizens with clear, objective and independent guidance on breast cancer screening and diagnosis to enable informed decision making. To make an informed decision, users must understand benefits and harms of the proposed intervention, thus the importance of Evidence to Decision (EtD) frameworks that focus questions and recommendations on outcomes that matter to women, provide a rating of evidence quality and recommendation strength.