Development of a GIN-McMaster Checklist Extension for Out-of-Hospital Health Guidelines: A Research Protocol
Files
(Published version)
Date
2026
Authors
Schultz, B.V.
Barker, T.H.
Bosley, E.
Keir, A.
Martin‐Gill, C.
Pollock, D.
Lang, E.
Akl, E.A.
Schünemann, H.J.
Petkovic, J.
Editors
Advisors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Type:
Journal article
Citation
Clinical and Public Health Guidelines, 2026; 3(2):e70060-1-e70060-7
Statement of Responsibility
Brendan V. Schultz, Timothy H. Barker, Emma Bosley, Amy Keir, Christian Martin-Gill, Dannielle Pollock, Eddy Lang, Elie A. Akl, Holger J. Schünemann, Jennifer Petkovic, Joanne Khabsa, Louise Reynolds, Michael McCaul, Michelle Thomson, Miloslav Klugar, Paul Simpson, Robin Pap, Sonja Maria, Wojtek Wiercioch, Zachary Munn
Conference Name
Abstract
Introduction The delivery of healthcare in the out-of-hospital setting by paramedics, emergency medical technicians, and first responders is informed by various health guidelines that cover a myriad of medical presentations. These guidelines often score poorly on quality assessment tools and do not routinely meet accepted standards for guideline development. To address this, we propose the development of an extension to the Guideline International Network (GIN)-McMaster Guideline Development Checklist (GDC) to assist developers of health guidelines on out-of-hospital care. Methods The aim of this project are to: (i) identify the current methodologies, approaches and processes used by developers of guidelines on out-of-hospital care and determine how they align with the original GIN-McMaster GDC; (ii) understand the overarching barriers and enablers of guideline development in this setting; (iii) generate a fit-for-purpose extension through an iterative consensus-based approach; and (iv) disseminate this document to target users. Discussion This protocol outlines the proposed development of an extension to the GIN-McMaster GDC, designed specifically for developers of health guidelines on out-of-hospital care. The development of this extension will be informed by understanding current practices and the determinants that influence guideline development in this setting. This will involve reviewing all items within the original checklist to determine if modifications and/or new items are required.
School/Discipline
Dissertation Note
Provenance
Description
Access Status
Rights
© 2026 The Author(s). Clinical and Public Health Guidelines published by Guidelines International Network. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.