The criteria below are to be used in the selection of clinical practice guideline topics. To be selected, a topic would need to address each of the following:
1. Appropriate domain for APA clinical practice guidelines. This includes but is not limited to behavioral, mental, and physical health problems and disorders for which psychological interventions might play a part. The focus here is on the domain of work of psychologists.
2. Importance. The guideline represents an area of high prevalence, severe symptoms, significant burden, or health disparity to an individual, families, communities or society as a whole:
- Prevalence
* Significant number of people/proportion of population affected.
- Symptom severity
* Symptoms are severe, or represent a significant departure from normality in terms of intensity, frequency, duration.
* A condition associated with significant morbidity or mortality in the population as whole or specific subgroups.
- Burden
* Affects a large proportion of the general population or of priority populations (e.g., children, elderly adults, low-income, rural/inner city, minorities, gender, or other individuals with special health care or access issues).
* Significant impact upon the person, such as impairment in functioning, quality of life years lost.
* Significant impact upon families, communities, and society overall (e.g., disability, health care utilization, family satisfaction).
- Health disparity
* Differences in the burden of health conditions or opportunities to achieve optimal health that are experienced by socially disadvantaged populations.
3. Need. A clinical need exists when there is reason to believe that:
- There is a potential harm from inaction (no guideline).
- There is significant variation in clinical practice.
- The guidelines are of high public interest.
- The guidelines have the potential to improve health care decision making for patients and providers; improve outcomes for patients; and/or decrease costs for a large proportion of the U.S. population.
- Changes enhance care by significantly improving patients’ quality of life; or reduce avoidable morbidity; or reduce avoidable premature mortality.
- The guidelines reduce inequalities in health relative to current standard of practice.
- The guidelines address inequities in vulnerable populations.
- If evidence is insufficient, the clinical need outweighs the evidence.
4. Value. A guideline would add value beyond what is currently available and has the potential to impact mental, behavioral, and physical health care:
- The guideline has the potential to be used in clinical practice.
- The guideline addresses a clinically relevant controversy or uncertainty around a topic and supporting data.
- The guideline has the potential to inform ethical, legal, or social issues.
- The guideline has the potential to lead to substantial system change.
- The guideline would be unique and not duplicate an adequate existing guideline.
5. Evidence. There is a sufficient quantity of research evidence that make it possible to develop a systematic clinical practice guideline. That is, the available research literature provides adequate evidence to support an assessment:
- The existing data are of adequate quality to develop a guideline.
- There is enough evidence to develop guidelines.
6. Feasible. The topic is manageable and feasible for a guideline.
7. Update. This guideline remains an important clinical topic but needs updating due to the length of time since the last APA review or because there is significant new information that has not been reviewed that may change the nature of the previous guideline.
8. Potential collaborators. Identify any external organizations that could collaborate with the APA to develop guidelines.
9. Existing systematic review. Identify any existing high-quality systematic reviews on the clinical practice guideline topic.
