What is guideline registration?

Guideline registration is the registration of the key information of a guideline under development, such as the theme, purpose, method and progress, on an open platform. The disclosure of this information, helps to promote the transparency of guideline development, avoid duplicated work and promote guideline dissemination and implementation.

Why to register a guideline?

After establishment of PDQ Cancer Clinical Trials Registry by National Cancer Institute (NCI) in 1977, a large number of registry platforms (e.g. ICTRP and PROSPERO) have been founded. Researchers found that registration of clinical trials and systematic reviews can significantly improve the transparency of the process and the overall quality of research, as well as promote the dissemination. Guidelines are no exception: for example, the quality of the WHO maternal and perinatal health guidelines improved substantially after the establishment of the WHO Guidelines Review Committee. The implications of guideline registration include: 1) increasing the transparency and rigorousness of the development process; 2) avoiding bias and duplication; 3) strengthening the cooperation between different guideline development organizations; 4) identification of possible problems during guideline development process and improving the quality; and 5) promoting the dissemination and implementation of the guidelines. 

What are the steps and process of registration?

The registration process in our platform includes the following steps: 1) registration of a user account and completing personal information; 2) completing the guideline registration information; 3) waiting for review (3-5 workdays); 4) receiving approval and a unique registration number; 5) updating guideline registration information as necessary.

How to obtain technical guidance on guidelines development on this platform?

This platform has established databases of guideline methodologists and systematic reviewers, as well as guideline development institutions. These experts and institutions have rich experience in the development of guidelines and systematic reviews. Guideline development groups can invite experts to participate in the development process of their guideline, consult the guideline methodologist about guideline development issues, consult the systematic review experts about production and assessment of systematic reviews, or commission institutions with relevant expertise to produce systematic reviews for the guideline.

How to confirm the registration number?

When a guideline is registered (also in English), we will give it a unique registration number, which has a fixed form. For example, in PREPARE-2022CN020, PREPARE means "Practice guideline REgistration transPAREncy platform", 2022 is the year of guideline registry, CN means China, and 020 is a unique identifier for this particular guideline.