Table 2:

Comparison of methods currently used by major international guideline-producing bodies

Guideline group	Topic selection	Conflicts of interest	Members	Stakeholder involvement	Review process	Method for summarizing evidence
WHO9	Topics recommended internally by WHO departments	Declared and published	Different group for each guideline Groups are multidisciplinary and include content experts, methodologists and end users; consumer involvement is encouraged	Review documents and participate in guideline work group	Research questions (experts and end users) Systematic review protocol and evidence tables (experts) Guidelines (experts and organizational reviewers)	GRADE
US Preventive Services Task Force8	Topics nominated by the public, task force members and stakeholders	Declared, not published	Multidisciplinary panel of 16 health-related disciplines, nominated for 4-year term No consumers in the guideline work group	Review and disseminate documents Briefing webinars offered on all guidelines New methods of stakeholder involvement are being tested	Public comment on research plans, evidence review, guidelines	Recommendations graded as A, B, C or D reflecting whether the service is recommended “I” statements used if evidence is insufficient to make a recommendation
National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence10	Topics selected by Department of Health but based on input from clinicians and public	Declared and published	Clinical group differs for each guideline; technical members (search, research, synthesis) are constant Groups include health professionals, patient and caregiver representatives and registered stakeholders	Involved in all steps throughout the process and as members of guideline work group Dissemination	Public consultation, peer review	Modified GRADE Recommendations are not rated as strong or weak
Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care	Topics nominated by public, task force members, stakeholders, literature review	Declared and posted on website	Multidisciplinary panel of 14 methodologic, primary care and guideline experts, nominated for 3-year term Subset of a minimum of 3 task force members in each guideline work group No consumers in guideline work group	Topic selection, review of documents	Research question Systematic review protocol Evidence report and guidelines reviewed by experts, and subject-matter and generalist organizations	GRADE

Note: GRADE = Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation, WHO = World Health Organization.