Application of the AGREE II instrument in the evaluation of a selection of South African Clinical Guidelines

Abstract

Guideline development processes influence the quality of clinical guidelines. The aim of this study was to use the AGREE II instrument to evaluate the variability of the quality of selected guidelines, to determine a baseline for the quality of current guidelines and determine whether guidelines demonstrated good standard practice during their development. The AGREE II instrument was used to assess a selection of guidelines published between January 2012 and June 2013. Eleven guidelines were selected for review. Overall, guidelines scored highest in domain 1 (Scope and purpose) and 4 (Clarity of presentation); and lowest in domain 3 (Rigour of development) and 6 (Editorial independence) with the overall assessment score of three out of seven. The study demonstrated that the quality of guidelines was variable and that there are deficiencies in the guideline development process. The results from this study provide a baseline to measure the quality of future guidelines.