Table 2.

Interpretation of Strong versus Conditional Strength of Recommendation

User Group	Strong Recommendation	Conditional Recommendation
Patients	Most individuals in this situation would want the recommended course of action and only a few would not. Formal decision aids are not likely to be needed to help individuals make decisions consistent with their values and preferences.	The majority of individuals in this situation would want the suggested course of action, but many would not.
Clinicians	Most individuals should receive the intervention. Adherence to this recommendation according to the guideline could be used as a quality criterion or performance indicator.	Understand that different choices will be appropriate for individual patients. Decision aids may be useful in helping individuals make decisions consistent with their values and preferences.
Policy makers	The recommendation can be adopted as policy in most situations.	Policy making will require substantial debates and involvement of many stakeholders.