ACcurate COnsensus Reporting Document (ACCORD) explanation and elaboration: Guidance and examples to support...

Area of Science:

• Health Research Methodology
• Evidence Synthesis
• Clinical Decision Making

Background:

• Healthcare decisions often rely on stakeholder consensus when evidence is limited.
• Consensus exercises systematically gather expertise but are frequently poorly reported.
• The ACCORD guideline aims to standardize reporting of consensus methods in biomedical research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide an explanation and elaboration of the ACCORD reporting guideline.
• To detail the information required for each ACCORD checklist item and its rationale.
• To offer a glossary of terms for consensus exercises to promote clarity and uniformity.

Main Methods:

• Collaborative development based on literature review of consensus methods.
• Systematic unpacking of ACCORD checklist items with reporting rationale.
• Inclusion of examples for reporting items from the ACCORD guideline.

Main Results:

• Detailed explanations for each ACCORD checklist item.
• Rationale provided for the importance of detailed reporting.
• A glossary of common consensus exercise terms is included.

Conclusions:

• The ACCORD guideline and explanatory document enhance transparency in health research consensus.
• Researchers can use ACCORD materials to report consensus exercises rigorously.
• Improved reporting allows readers to assess the trustworthiness and applicability of consensus findings.