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Procedures for Using Clinical Practice Guidelines

Mona Griffer
Marywood University, Scranton, PA

Bonnie Lund
Minnesota State University, Mankato

Contact author: Patricia M. Hargrove, AH 103, Department of Speech, Hearing, and Rehabilitation Services, Minnesota State University, Mankato, Mankato, MN 56001. E-mail: patricia.hargrove{at}mnsu.edu.

Purpose: This article provides information about clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) to facilitate their application to the practice of speech-language pathology. CPGs are sets of recommendations based on evidence, including expert clinical opinion, that have been developed by a panel of reviewers. In this article, CPGs are defined and their components and rationale for use are discussed. A guide for analyzing CPGs critically and recommendations for applying them to clinical practice are also described.

Method: Two of the authors and 1 graduate student in speech-language pathology independently evaluated a CPG from the early intervention literature using the guide described in the article. An illustrative evaluation of a CPG is presented to facilitate application of the proposed critiquing guide.

Results: The guide was revealed to have high interrater reliability. However, analysis of the raters' responses to the individual items revealed problems with 3 items. The authors present possible resolutions and/or explanations for the problems.

Conclusion: By using the proposed guide, speech-language pathologists can increase their application of research to clinical practice, thereby enhancing their skills in informed clinical decision making.

KEY WORDS: evidence-based practice, clinical practice guideline, early intervention

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