Recommending working group

This working group supports efforts to make evidence-based recommendations in ways that are more coordinated and efficient and that balance quality and timeliness

Terms of reference (with 1-3 being about identifying, 4-6 about collaborating, and 7-9 about undertaking)

1. Provide an initial overview of emerging and existing repositories and initiatives for COVID-19 guidance (completed and underway), through mapping and surveying initiatives and organizations
2. Identify and support the most useful repository for trustworthy COVID-19 guidance (the ‘global guidance repository’) that can be re-used, shared and adapted globally and is optimally linked to other repositories of evidence sources (e.g., systematic reviews, evidence tables, economic models) from trustworthy partners such as PAHO, WHO, G-I-N, and others)
3. Identify and share standards, methods, processes and digital platforms for developing, disseminating, adapting and implementing trustworthy, actionable and living guidance (linked to evidence)
4. Collaborate with key organizations within the technology assessment and guideline fields to share their COVID-19 guidance and evidence tables to initially feed into COVID-END repository and ultimately the global guidance repository
5. Contribute to maintaining the guide to COVID-19 evidence sources and encourage its use to avoid unnecessary duplication, while coordinating with the global guidance repository
6. Connect other COVID-END working groups to guidance activities to reduce duplication and facilitate work among groups (with emphasis in digitizing, synthesizing, and packaging groups)
7. Conduct quality assessments of the available guidelines (to add to the global guidance repository)
8. Develop rapid guidance following trustworthy methods for rapid recommendations (e.g., BMJ rapid recommendations) for selected prioritized questions
9. Identify funding opportunities to support guideline organizations with limited capacity in their work on COVID-19 guidelines, through expertise and person-power

Participants

1. Ivan Florez, AGREE Collaboration, University of Antioquia, Colombia (co-chair)
2. Per-Olav Vandvik, MAGIC Evidence Ecosystem Foundation, Norway (co-chair)
3. Amir Qaseem, American College of Physicians, U.S.A.
4. Elie Akl, Systematic Review Centre for Health Policy and Systems, AUB, Lebanon
5. Ignacio Neumann, Epistemonikos, Chile
6. Jerry Osheroff, ACTS, U.S.A.
7. Michael McCaul, Centre for Evidence-based Health Care, Stellenbosch University, South Africa
8. Mireille Goetghebeur, Institut national d'excellence en santé et en services sociaux (INESSSS), Canada
9. Lucy Henry, Health Technology Assessment International (HTAi), Canada
10. Ludovic Reveiz, Pan American Health Organization
11. Susan Norris, World Health Organization
12. Tamara Kredo, South African Medical Research Council, South Africa
13. Xuan Elody, Evidence-Based Medicine Center, China
14. Zack Munn, G-I-N, Australia
15. Secretariat: Safa Al-Khateeb, McMaster Health Forum | RISE and Anna Dion, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute | RISE and COVID-END secretariat, Canada, and David Tovey, COVID-END Secretariat

Meeting documents