Chart 3. User guide to GRADE for health professionals, including interpretation, critical assessment, and use of GRADE recommendations in patient care.

Understanding the meaning of the strength of the recommendation What does strength mean? What does the certainty of the evidence mean? Distinguishing between trustworthy and untrustworthy recommendations Were all of the relevant outcomes important to patients explicitly considered? Was the recommendation based on the best current evidence? Is the strength of the recommendation appropriate? Is the recommendation clear and actionable? Does the recommendation provide the necessary additional information? Applying recommendations to patient care Strong recommendations Weak recommendations

GRADE: Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation.