PUB - Publikationen an der Universität Bielefeld

BACKGROUND: Guidelines provide systematically developed decision aids for medical treatment. Quality indicators are derived from recommendations of guidelines to promote the implementation of the guideline and to allow for quality management of both the guideline and the health care itself.; OBJECTIVES: This study aims to describe the relevance of quality of life as a quality indicator in the development process of guidelines in the German context.; METHODS: A systematic literature review was performed in the PubMed database, to highlight the current state of discussion on the use of quality indicators in the development process of guidelines. 90 articles were included in the analysis of the review.; RESULTS: The focus of the evaluation of medical guidelines has changed over time. It started with the evaluation of the methodological quality. Currently, the evaluation of the effects of the guide-lines, especially the process quality but also the quality of results, is focused. Many articles merely mentioned that improving the quality of life - as well as reducing morbidity and mortality - is considered as an outcome parameter. Overall, it was obvious that quality of life is not yet considered as a quality indicator in the development of guidelines.; CONCLUSIONS: A patient-oriented approach, taking into account the quality of life and not just factors of mortality and morbidity, is increasingly in demand. Therefore, quality of life should be respected in the primary studies underlying the guidelines as well as being a quality indicator. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.