Bridging the Gap between Evidence and Practice: An Experience of Guideline Contextualization, by the Family Medicine Department, North West Armed Forces Hospital, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Objective: This article aims to explore the reasons for the gap between guidelines and clinical practice, providing a real-world example of rapid adapting valid guidelines to a local context. Design/ Methodology: The rapid guideline contextualization methodology was adopted. Participants/ Intervention: 43 physicians from diverse medical background, and different seniority level shared in developing 8 concise guidelines’ summaries for the most encounter clinical problems that family physicians face. They followed the adopted pathways and hold many meetings under supervision of a strategic task force team of 6 members from different clinical& administrative disciplines. Results/outcomes: Summary of recommendations, algorithms, patient leaflets, and audit criteria for each guideline were extracted and presented to enhance their applicability. Conclusions: Using the example of a Primary Health Care (PHC) in a big governmental hospital in Saudi Arabia, the effectiveness of the rapid adaptation and the system of contextualization of guidelines was proven.