WHAT IS AN AACPDM CARE PATHWAY?

Care Pathways revised or developed using the Instructions for Care Pathway Development 2020 Edition (make link to this document) are clinical practice guidelines for the health care of individuals with childhood-onset disabilities. Their main goal is to develop recommendations that allow users to understand the evidence on a topic and apply it to clinical practice. Practice recommendations provided by Care Pathways are based on the best available evidence from systematic reviews developed with rigorous methodologic standards. They are graded for their probable accuracy (i.e., quality) and the confidence with which they can be used (i.e. strength) for the purpose of making clinical decisions. The systematic processes used in the decisions and judgments involved during Care Pathways development are transparent and explicitly described.

CURRENT CARE PATHWAYS LISTED BELOW:

• Central Hypotonia

  Original Posting: September 2019

  Current status: Revision due September 2022

• Dystonia in Cerebral Palsy

  Original Posting: September 2016

  Current Status: Revision in progress

• Early Detection of Cerebral Palsy

  Original Posting: May 2020

  Current Status: Revision due May 2023

• Hip Surveillance in Cerebral Palsy

  Original Posting: September 2017

  Current status: Due for revision

• Osteoporosis in Cerebral Palsy

  Original Posting: January 2016

  Current Status: Revision in progress

• Sialorrhea in Cerebral Palsy

  Original Posting: September 2016

  Current Status: Revision in progress

HOW ARE CARE PATHWAYS ORGANIZED?

Care Pathway Presentation items available to view on the webpage include:

1. A statement of recommendation using standardized GRADE wording: Weak or conditional recommendation (for or against), or strong recommendation (for or against). These 4 possible recommendations are accompanied by specification of the strength of the recommendation and quality of evidence.
2. An interpretation aid
3. A plain language summary

Care Pathway Reporting items available to access from the webpage include:

1. Links to systematic review(s) used in the evidence synthesis
2. Quality assessments (methods and reporting) of systematic reviews used in the evidence synthesis
3. Evidence Profiles and Summary of Finding Tables
4. Evidence-to-decision framework including all sources used to formulate judgements
5. Quality appraisals (AGREE II and AGREE REX) of the Care Pathway by internal (Committee) reviewers
6. Other documents produced by the Care Pathway Development Team (eg, documentation of group processes in decision-making activities)
7. Acknowledgement of all involved in Care Pathway development with itemized contributions
8. Conflict of interest declarations of Care Pathway Development Team

HOW CAN YOU LEAVE FEEDBACK OR COMMENTS ON A CARE PATHWAY?

Each Care Pathway website has a link to post comments. Transcripts of comments and replies to them by the Care Pathways Developers are available for viewing, including those posted in the initial 30 day external review period.

INTERESTED IN DEVELOPING AN AACPDM CARE PATHWAY?

If you are interested in developing a future AACPDM Care Pathway or would like to learn more about the recommended processes for developing a Care Pathway, including those involved in developing a systematic review, please go to the Instructions for AACPDM  Care Pathway Development 2020 Edition. The document describes the Phases of Care Pathway development and details the required methodology, tools ,and procedures.  The Instructions have a companion document, the GDC-CP, which is a checklist used by Care Pathway teams for detailed guidance and documentation of all steps in the development process.

Please contact the Care Pathways Committee for further information on how to submit a letter of interest.