Strength of recommendations in WHO guidelines using GRADE was associated with uptake in national policy.

Objectives: This study assesses the extent to which the strength of a recommendation in a World Health Organization (WHO) guideline affects uptake of the recommendation in national guidelines.

Study Design And Setting: The uptake of recommendations included in HIV and TB guidelines issued by WHO from 2009 to 2013 was assessed across guidelines from 20 low- and middle-income countries in Africa and Southeast Asia. Associations between characteristics of recommendations (strength, quality of the evidence, type) and uptake were assessed using logistic regression.