title: Guide to clinical practice guidelines: the current state of play.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Extensive research has been undertaken over the last 30 years on the methods underpinning clinical practice guidelines (CPGs), including their development, updating, reporting, tailoring for specific purposes, implementation and evaluation. This has resulted in an increasing number of terms, tools and acronyms. Over time, CPGs have shifted from opinion-based to evidence-informed, including increasingly sophisticated methodologies and implementation strategies, and thus keeping abreast of evolution in this field of research can be challenging.
  
  
  METHODS
  This article collates findings from an extensive document search, to provide a guide describing standards, methods and systems reported in the current CPG methodology and implementation literature. This guide is targeted at those working in health care quality and safety and responsible for either commissioning, researching or delivering health care. It is presented in a way that can be updated as the field expands.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  CPG development and implementation have attracted the most international interest and activity, whilst CPG updating, adopting (with or without contextualization), adapting and impact evaluation are less well addressed.
authors.affiliation: South African Cochrane Centre (SACC), South African Medical Research Council, Francie van Zijl Drive, Parow Valley, Cape Town 7505, South Africa.
authors.forename: Tamara
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kredo
authors.affiliation: Närhälsan Rehabilitation, Region VästraGötaland, Hönö, Sweden Department of Medical and Health Sciences, Division of Physiotherapy, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.
authors.forename: Susanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bernhardsson
authors.affiliation: South African Cochrane Centre (SACC), South African Medical Research Council, Francie van Zijl Drive, Parow Valley, Cape Town 7505, South Africa.
authors.forename: Shingai
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Machingaidze
authors.affiliation: South African Cochrane Centre (SACC), South African Medical Research Council, Francie van Zijl Drive, Parow Valley, Cape Town 7505, South Africa Centre for Evidence-Based Health Care (CEBHC), Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Francie van Zijl Drive, Tygerberg, Cape Town 7505, South Africa.
authors.forename: Taryn
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Young
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Francie van Zijl Drive, Tygerberg, Cape Town 7505, South Africa.
authors.forename: Quinette
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Louw
authors.affiliation: Centre for Evidence-Based Health Care (CEBHC), Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Francie van Zijl Drive, Tygerberg, Cape Town 7505, South Africa.
authors.forename: Eleanor
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ochodo
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Francie van Zijl Drive, Tygerberg, Cape Town 7505, South Africa International Centre for Allied Health Evidence (iCAHE), University of South Australia, City East Campus, P4-18 North Terrace, Adelaide 5000, Australia.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Grimmer
mesh_terms: D003142:Communication; D003657:Decision Making; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006801:Humans; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic / Q000592:standards*; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care; D009626:Terminology as Topic
keywords: adaptation; clinical practice guidelines; guideline development; implementation