Comparison of alternative evidence summary and presentation formats in clinical guideline development: a mixed-method study.

<h4>Background</h4>Best formats for summarising and presenting evidence for use in clinical guideline development remain less well defined. We aimed to assess the effectiveness of different evidence summary formats to address this gap.<h4>Methods</h4>Healthcare professionals...

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Main Authors: Newton Opiyo, Sasha Shepperd, Nyokabi Musila, Elizabeth Allen, Rachel Nyamai, Atle Fretheim, Mike English
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2013-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0055067&type=printable
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author Newton Opiyo
Sasha Shepperd
Nyokabi Musila
Elizabeth Allen
Rachel Nyamai
Atle Fretheim
Mike English
author_facet Newton Opiyo
Sasha Shepperd
Nyokabi Musila
Elizabeth Allen
Rachel Nyamai
Atle Fretheim
Mike English
author_sort Newton Opiyo
collection DOAJ
description <h4>Background</h4>Best formats for summarising and presenting evidence for use in clinical guideline development remain less well defined. We aimed to assess the effectiveness of different evidence summary formats to address this gap.<h4>Methods</h4>Healthcare professionals attending a one-week Kenyan, national guideline development workshop were randomly allocated to receive evidence packaged in three different formats: systematic reviews (SRs) alone, systematic reviews with summary-of-findings tables, and 'graded-entry' formats (a 'front-end' summary and a contextually framed narrative report plus the SR). The influence of format on the proportion of correct responses to key clinical questions, the primary outcome, was assessed using a written test. The secondary outcome was a composite endpoint, measured on a 5-point scale, of the clarity of presentation and ease of locating the quality of evidence for critical neonatal outcomes. Interviews conducted within two months following completion of trial data collection explored panel members' views on the evidence summary formats and experiences with appraisal and use of research information.<h4>Results</h4>65 (93%) of 70 participants completed questions on the prespecified outcome measures. There were no differences between groups in the odds of correct responses to key clinical questions. 'Graded-entry' formats were associated with a higher mean composite score for clarity and accessibility of information about the quality of evidence for critical neonatal outcomes compared to systematic reviews alone (adjusted mean difference 0.52, 95% CI 0.06 to 0.99). There was no difference in the mean composite score between SR with SoF tables and SR alone. Findings from interviews with 16 panelists indicated that short narrative evidence reports were preferred for the improved clarity of information presentation and ease of use.<h4>Conclusions</h4>Our findings suggest that 'graded-entry' evidence summary formats may improve clarity and accessibility of research evidence in clinical guideline development.<h4>Trial registration</h4>Controlled-Trials.com ISRCTN05154264.
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spelling doaj-art-4764592cbdd241f7a88c9fc69115fe8d2025-08-20T03:25:11ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032013-01-0181e5506710.1371/journal.pone.0055067Comparison of alternative evidence summary and presentation formats in clinical guideline development: a mixed-method study.Newton OpiyoSasha ShepperdNyokabi MusilaElizabeth AllenRachel NyamaiAtle FretheimMike English<h4>Background</h4>Best formats for summarising and presenting evidence for use in clinical guideline development remain less well defined. We aimed to assess the effectiveness of different evidence summary formats to address this gap.<h4>Methods</h4>Healthcare professionals attending a one-week Kenyan, national guideline development workshop were randomly allocated to receive evidence packaged in three different formats: systematic reviews (SRs) alone, systematic reviews with summary-of-findings tables, and 'graded-entry' formats (a 'front-end' summary and a contextually framed narrative report plus the SR). The influence of format on the proportion of correct responses to key clinical questions, the primary outcome, was assessed using a written test. The secondary outcome was a composite endpoint, measured on a 5-point scale, of the clarity of presentation and ease of locating the quality of evidence for critical neonatal outcomes. Interviews conducted within two months following completion of trial data collection explored panel members' views on the evidence summary formats and experiences with appraisal and use of research information.<h4>Results</h4>65 (93%) of 70 participants completed questions on the prespecified outcome measures. There were no differences between groups in the odds of correct responses to key clinical questions. 'Graded-entry' formats were associated with a higher mean composite score for clarity and accessibility of information about the quality of evidence for critical neonatal outcomes compared to systematic reviews alone (adjusted mean difference 0.52, 95% CI 0.06 to 0.99). There was no difference in the mean composite score between SR with SoF tables and SR alone. Findings from interviews with 16 panelists indicated that short narrative evidence reports were preferred for the improved clarity of information presentation and ease of use.<h4>Conclusions</h4>Our findings suggest that 'graded-entry' evidence summary formats may improve clarity and accessibility of research evidence in clinical guideline development.<h4>Trial registration</h4>Controlled-Trials.com ISRCTN05154264.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0055067&type=printable
spellingShingle Newton Opiyo
Sasha Shepperd
Nyokabi Musila
Elizabeth Allen
Rachel Nyamai
Atle Fretheim
Mike English
Comparison of alternative evidence summary and presentation formats in clinical guideline development: a mixed-method study.
PLoS ONE
title Comparison of alternative evidence summary and presentation formats in clinical guideline development: a mixed-method study.
title_full Comparison of alternative evidence summary and presentation formats in clinical guideline development: a mixed-method study.
title_fullStr Comparison of alternative evidence summary and presentation formats in clinical guideline development: a mixed-method study.
title_full_unstemmed Comparison of alternative evidence summary and presentation formats in clinical guideline development: a mixed-method study.
title_short Comparison of alternative evidence summary and presentation formats in clinical guideline development: a mixed-method study.
title_sort comparison of alternative evidence summary and presentation formats in clinical guideline development a mixed method study
url https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0055067&type=printable
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