Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
3909741 | The Breast | 2008 | 8 Pages |
To encourage transborder cooperation in breast cancer care in Europe, we explored possibilities with the German–Dutch border area as an example.Evidence-based breast cancer guidelines were searched and compared on the: (1) methodological quality (with AGREE (Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation)), (2) content of recommendations and (3) evidence use.The methodological quality of the German (n = 2) and Dutch guidelines (n = 2) was generally sufficient and comparable, although the applicability and the editorial independence were not clearly documented in the Dutch guidelines. Regarding the content analysis, German recommendations were taken as a reference point, because of the highest AGREE scores. Twenty-one of 25 recommendations discussed in both guidelines were corresponding and 4 were different, 32 were not mentioned in the Dutch guideline. The guidelines shared little evidence (≤11%).We conclude that there are possibilities to encourage transborder cooperation. The clinical context of our results should be examined by measuring the actual care in both countries preferably with quality indicators.