From evidence to care delivery: Opportunities and risks in health and science policy. A position paper of the Association of the Scientific Medical Societies in Germany (AWMF).

Objective: After over 25 years of developing clinical practice guidelines, the Association of the Scientific Medical Societies in Germany (AWMF) held a symposium to discuss the following topics in order to improve the way evidence is implemented in the delivery of care: expansion of the data pool for guideline development, the regulatory policy framework for this expansion, the transfer of clinical practice guideline statements to medical practice, the associated opportunities and risks resulting from the European legislation.

Methods: The AWMF held its Berlin Forum on 27 April 2022 where experts from scientific medical societies and national institutions in the healthcare sector reported their experiences and perceptions on the topics mentioned. Three writing groups compiled the key statements from these contributions to and discussions made at the Berlin Forum into a position paper.

Awareness, use and perception of patient versions of clinical practice guidelines - a national cross-sectional survey among patients with a cancer diagnosis and healthcare providers.

Background: To investigate awareness, use, and perceptions of the patient guidelines (PGs) of the German Guideline Program in Oncology (GGPO) and to explore general preferences regarding cancer information among patients and healthcare providers (HCPs).

Methods: Two cross-sectional surveys among patients with cancer (November 2020-May 2021) and among HCPs (April -June 2021) were set up as anonymised, self-administered, semi-structured online surveys, including open-ended questions. Data were analysed with descriptive statistics and qualitative thematic analysis.

Voluntarily stopping eating and drinking (VSED): A systematic mixed-methods review focusing on the carers' experiences.

Background: Voluntary stopping of eating and drinking (VSED) is a way to end one's life prematurely. We synthesized the empirical data on VSED.

Methods: In this systematic mixed-methods review, we searched MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Google Scholar, and BELIT for English and German articles published between January 1, 2013 and November 12, 2021.

Recommendations to improve use and dissemination of patient versions of oncological clinical practice guidelines in Germany: results of a multi-stakeholder workshop.

Background: Oncological patients have high information needs that are often unmet. Patient versions of oncological clinical practice guidelines (PVG) translate clinical practice guidelines into laypersons' language and might help to address patients' information needs. Currently, 30 oncological PVG have been published in Germany and more are being developed.

Clinical Practice Guideline: Recommendations for the Perioperative Management of Pancreatic and Colorectal Cancer Patients.

Background: Colorectal and pancreatic carcinoma are the most common cancers of the gastrointestinal tract. Their surgical treatment carries a high morbidity: complications arise in 25% to 30% of cases, often prolonging recovery times and delaying the initiation of adjuvant therapy, leading, in turn, to worse oncological outcomes. The goal of multimodal perioperative management (mPOM) is to lower the postoperative complication rate through a combination of perioperative measures.

Informing pandemic management in Germany with trustworthy living evidence syntheses and guideline development: lessons learned from the COVID-19 evidence ecosystem.

Objectives: We present the 'COVID-19 evidence ecosystem' (CEOsys) as a German network to inform pandemic management and to support clinical and public health decision-making. We discuss challenges faced when organizing the ecosystem and derive lessons learned for similar networks acting during pandemics or health-related crises.

Study Design And Setting: Bringing together 18 university hospitals and additional institutions, CEOsys key activities included research prioritization, conducting living systematic reviews (LSRs), supporting evidence-based (living) guidelines, knowledge translation (KT), detecting research gaps, and deriving recommendations, backed by technical infrastructure and capacity building.

Implementation of quality indicators for vulvar cancer in gynaecological cancer centres certified by the German Cancer Society (DKG).

Purpose: In 2018, the first guideline-based quality indicators (QI) for vulvar cancer were implemented in the data-sheets of certified gynaecological cancer centres. The certification process includes guideline-based QIs as a fundamental component. These indicators are specifically designed to evaluate the level of care provided within the centres.

Use, applicability, and dissemination of patient versions of clinical practice guidelines in oncology in Germany: a qualitative interview study with healthcare providers.

Background: People with cancer have high information needs; however, they are often inadequately met. Patient versions of clinical practice guidelines (PVGs), a special form of evidence-based information, translate patient-relevant recommendations from clinical practice guidelines into lay language. To date, little is known about the experience of PVGs from healthcare providers' perspective in healthcare.

Application of the PANELVIEW instrument to evaluate the guideline development process of the German polytrauma guideline.

Background: PANELVIEW is an instrument for evaluating the appropriateness of the process, methods, and outcome of guideline development and the satisfaction of the guideline group with these steps.

Objective: To evaluate the guideline development process of the German guideline on the treatment of patients with severe/multiple injuries ('German polytrauma guideline') from the perspective of the guideline group, and to identify areas where this process may be improved in the future.

Methods: We administered PANELVIEW to the participants of the 2022 update of the German polytrauma guideline.

Barriers and facilitators in developing patient versions of clinical practice guidelines - qualitative interviews on experiences of international guideline producers.

Background: Several guideline organizations produce patient versions of clinical practice guidelines (PVGs) which translate recommendations into simple language. A former study of our working group revealed that few guideline organizations publish their methods used to develop PVGs. Clear definitions of PVGs do not prevail and their purposes often remain unclear.

Motivational interviewing for substance use reduction.

Background: Substance use is a global issue, with around 30 to 35 million individuals estimated to have a substance-use disorder. Motivational interviewing (MI) is a client-centred method that aims to strengthen a person's motivation and commitment to a specific goal by exploring their reasons for change and resolving ambivalence, in an atmosphere of acceptance and compassion. This review updates the 2011 version by Smedslund and colleagues.

S3 guideline "actinic keratosis and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma" - update 2023, part 2: epidemiology and etiology, diagnostics, surgical and systemic treatment of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC), surveillance and prevention.

Actinic keratosis (AK) are common lesions in light-skinned individuals that can potentially progress to cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC). Both conditions may be associated with significant morbidity and constitute a major disease burden, especially among the elderly. To establish an evidence-based framework for clinical decision making, the guideline "actinic keratosis and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma" was updated and expanded by the topics cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma in situ (Bowen's disease) and actinic cheilitis.

Heterogeneous methodology in the development of patient versions of clinical practice guidelines: a scoping review.

Objectives: We aimed to gain an overview of the methods and approaches used to develop, disseminate, and implement patient versions of clinical practice guidelines (PVGs).

Methods: We searched PubMed and MEDLINE through Ovid for articles reporting on the development, dissemination, or implementation of PVGs until March 2022. We searched the homepages of guideline organizations, screened the reference lists of the included documents, and asked experts to complement the publications.

The effectiveness of clinical guideline implementation strategies in oncology-a systematic review.

Importance: Guideline recommendations do not necessarily translate into changes in clinical practice behaviour or better patient outcomes.

Objective: This systematic review aims to identify recent clinical guideline implementation strategies in oncology and to determine their effect primarily on patient-relevant outcomes and secondarily on healthcare professionals' adherence.

Methods: A systematic search of five electronic databases (PubMed, Web of Science, GIN, CENTRAL, CINAHL) was conducted on 16 december 2022.

Effect of ICU care bundles on long-term patient-relevant outcomes: a scoping review.

Objective: Care bundles are considered a key tool to improve bedside quality of care in the intensive care unit (ICU). We explored their effect on long-term patient-relevant outcomes.

Design: Systematic literature search and scoping review.

COVID-19 Intensive Care-Evaluation of Public Information Sources and Current Standards of Care in German Intensive Care Units: A Cross Sectional Online Survey on Intensive Care Staff in Germany.

: In February 2021, the first formal evidence and consensus-based (S3) guidelines for the inpatient treatment of patients with COVID-19 were published in Germany and have been updated twice during 2021. The aim of the present study is to re-evaluate the dissemination pathways and strategies for ICU staff (first evaluation in December 2020 when previous versions of consensus-based guidelines (S2k) were published) and question selected aspects of guideline adherence of standard care for patients with COVID-19 in the ICU. We conducted an anonymous online survey among German intensive care staff from 11 October 2021 to 11 November 2021.

The GIN-McMaster guideline tool extension for the integration of quality improvement and quality assurance in guidelines: a description of the methods for its development.

Background And Objectives: Our objective was to develop an extension of the widely used GIN-McMaster Guideline Development Checklist and Tool for the integration of quality assurance and improvement (QAI) schemes with guideline development.

Methods: We used a mixed-methods approach incorporating evidence from a systematic review, an expert workshop and a survey of experts to iteratively create an extension of the checklist for QAI through three rounds of feedback. As a part of this process, we also refined criteria of a good guideline-based quality indicator.

Investigating the role and applicability of patient versions of guidelines in oncology and deriving recommendations for the development, dissemination and implementation of patient versions in Germany: protocol for multiphase study.

Introduction: The German Guideline Program in Oncology (GGPO) has published patient versions of clinical practice guidelines for more than 10 years. However, a systematic evaluation of these is lacking. The project aims to investigate the role and applicability of patient versions by considering the perspectives of experts, patients and healthcare providers to derive recommendations for the development, dissemination and implementation of patient versions in Germany.

Use of patient-relevant outcome measures to assess the long-term effects of care bundles in the ICU: a scoping review protocol.

Introduction: There is only moderate adherence to evidence-based practice in critical care. Care bundles can be used to increase adherence to best clinical practice. Components of bundle interventions, bundle implementation rates, barriers and facilitators of bundle implementation, and the effect of care bundles on short-term patient outcomes such as intensive care unit (ICU) mortality all appear to be regularly studied.

German S3 Guideline: Oxygen Therapy in the Acute Care of Adult Patients.

Background: Oxygen (O2) is a drug with specific biochemical and physiological properties, a range of effective doses and may have side effects. In 2015, 14% of over 55,000 hospital patients in the UK were using oxygen. 42% of patients received this supplemental oxygen without a valid prescription.