Use of evidence for clinical practice guideline development

Clinical practice guidelines provide a framework against which quality of care is measured. Recommendations contained within guidelines are used for decision-making not only within the clinical domain but also other related issues within the health systems. As such the use of research evidence for formulating recommendations contained in a guideline is a global standard to ensure guideline quality. The paper briefly reviews how the need for and use of evidence in guideline development shaped up historically and then provides an overview of the four typologies of guideline development mechanisms at the country level.