Essential Skills for Evidence-based Practice Appraising Clinical Practice Guidelines

Abstract

Evidence-based clinical practice guidelines allow generalist nurses to benefit from the scholarship and clinical expertise of others. Guidelines summarize the available evidence about a clinical problem and make recommendations for practice based on evidence appraisal and values (often unstated) defining effective and efficient care. Practice guideline recommendations must be comprehensive even when best evidence is not available to inform each one. As a result, evidence-based clinical practice guidelines include ratings of the strength of evidence supporting each recommendation and often the strength of the recommendation (balance of risks and benefits). Clinical practice guidelines provide evidence in a format that is particularly useful for generalist nurses; however, any guideline must be appraised for trustworthiness and values fit before application to patient care. Instructions for a brief appraisal process are provided in both English and Thai.

Keywords: clinical practice guideline, evidence-based practice, strength of evidence, strength of recommendation