Guideline adaptation in Poland: first step in evidence implementation.

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Clinical Practice Guidelines
• Evidence-Based Medicine

Background:

• The guideline development process in Poland lacks coordination and standardized methods.
• No institution regularly assesses guideline quality in Poland.
• Adapting existing high-quality guidelines can enhance local guideline quality and facilitate evidence implementation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To discuss methodological challenges and lessons learned from a guideline adaptation project in Poland.
• To outline the first steps in translating evidence into practice through guideline adaptation.

Main Methods:

• The National Chamber of Physicians adapted guidelines using the ADAPTE Collaboration's systematic approach.
• A multidisciplinary team, including methodologists, clinical experts, and patient representatives, was involved.
• The project followed the ADAPTE Toolkit framework for guideline development.

Main Results:

• Cooperation among diverse stakeholders was crucial for defining clinical questions.
• Establishing minimal methodological inclusion criteria was essential due to variations in identified guidelines.
• The adaptation process highlighted the need for clear criteria to manage diverse guideline methodologies.

Conclusions:

• Well-defined inclusion criteria and systematic quality assessment facilitated guideline adaptation.
• The ADAPTE Toolkit, adapted to group needs, supported evidence implementation in Poland.
• Guideline adaptation serves as a vital first step for integrating evidence into clinical practice.