Verbindlichkeit von Empfehlungsformulierungen in Leitlinien: Survey zur Wahrnehmung unter Leitlinienentwicklern

The current survey demonstrates that guideline developers perceive the binding character of terms used in guideline recommendations in a similar way as it was found for guideline users in a previous survey. Negative recommendations are more often rated as more binding by guideline developers as the corresponding positive terms. The discordant ratings by the guideline developers can be explained by their methodological knowledge regarding formulations of recommendations. It would be desirable that efforts be made to identify wordings in guidelines which better discriminate the intended level of obligation of guideline recommendations with regard to these results.