GRADE workshop : grading the quality of evidence and strength of recommendations

The European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) organised a workshop on evidence-based guidelines development with GRADE ('Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation'). GRADE is a method of grading the quality of the evidence and going from this evidence to the corresponding recommendation. Twenty participants attended the workshop, none of whom had experience with GRADE. Fourteen participants worked at the JRC, three at the Directorate General for Health and Consumers (DG SANCO), one at the European Centre of Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), and two participants were from other non-European Commission institutions. The workshop consisted of group work and computer-based exercises held after theoretical sessions. Meeting facilitators were available to give practical advice. The training was deemed a success as suggested by participants' feedback. The JRC will organise workshops with the same format dedicated to stakeholders involved in developing guidelines, such as the team of the new European Guidelines for breast cancer screening and diagnosis.