Finding Guidelines: Home

Guidelines

Guidelines (also known as clinical practice guidelines, practice guidelines, and CPG's) are high-level evidence because a group of experts has reviewed the existing evidence on a topic, graded the evidence, and made recommendations for how to implement the evidence in a clinical setting. Guidelines can be developed on the international, national, state, and local level by health organizations, hospitals, and other groups, but always check the quality and authorship to be sure it is trustworthy and can be used in patient care.

Note: The National Guideline Clearinghouse will no longer be updated after July 16, 2018.  Alternative guideline resources are listed below.

Guideline Sources

You can find guidelines by searching for part of your topic (usually a specific disease, condition, or intervention) through the sources below.

Check guideline sites/organizations

Check databases by searching for part of your topic and selecting "Guideline" or "Practice Guideline" from the Publication Type or Article Type filter.

Check the websites of trusted professional organizations (See the list of examples)

  • Search the web for part of your topic and the words "practice guideline" or "clinical guideline"
  • Go to an organization's website and search on their site for guidelines they have posted

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Guideline Appraisal Tools

  • Last Updated: Aug 20, 2020 12:59 PM
  • URL: https://guides.lib.unc.edu/guidelines
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