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Evaluation of the Work Loss Data Institute's Official Disability Guidelines
Kanaka Shetty1, Laura Raaen, Dmitry Khodyakov
1RAND Corporation, Santa Monica (Dr Shetty, Ms Raaen, Dr Khodyakov, Dr Nuckols); Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles (Dr Boutsicaris, Dr Nuckols), California.
Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
|November 15, 2017
Summary
The Official Disability Guidelines (ODG) for occupational conditions received a 58% score, indicating a need for improved rigor in guideline development despite clinical acceptance.
Area of Science:
- Occupational Medicine
- Health Services Research
- Clinical Guideline Evaluation
Background:
- The Official Disability Guidelines (ODG) are widely utilized for occupational condition utilization review.
- Independent evaluations of the ODG's development and content quality are infrequent.
Purpose of the Study:
- To independently assess the methodological rigor and quality of systematic reviews supporting the Official Disability Guidelines (ODG).
- To evaluate the clinical validity of the ODG for 47 occupational condition topics.
Main Methods:
- Applied the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation II (AGREE II) instrument to assess guideline development.
- Utilized a modified Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR) tool to evaluate supporting systematic reviews.
- Multidisciplinary experts rated the clinical validity of the ODG content.
Main Results:
- The ODG achieved an overall AGREE II score of 58%, with strengths in breadth, clarity, updating, and tools, but weaknesses in worker input and editorial independence.
- The modified AMSTAR rating was fair/good, limited by method information.
- Clinical content validity was confirmed by panelists for 41 out of 47 topics.
Conclusions:
- The Official Disability Guidelines (ODG) demonstrate clinical acceptability among healthcare providers.
- Enhancements in methodological rigor are necessary for the ODG to align with current standards in guideline development.