RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Publication guidelines for quality improvement in health care: evolution of the SQUIRE project
JF Quality and Safety in Health Care
JO Qual Saf Health Care
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd
SP i3
OP i9
DO 10.1136/qshc.2008.029066
VO 17
IS Suppl 1
A1 F Davidoff
A1 P Batalden
A1 D Stevens
A1 G Ogrinc
A1 S Mooney
YR 2008
UL http://qualitysafety.bmj.com/content/17/Suppl_1/i3.abstract
AB In 2005, draft guidelines were published for reporting studies of quality improvement interventions as the initial step in a consensus process for development of a more definitive version. This article contains the full revised version of the guidelines, which the authors refer to as SQUIRE (Standards for QUality Improvement Reporting Excellence). This paper also describes the consensus process, which included informal feedback from authors, editors and peer reviewers who used the guidelines; formal written commentaries; input from a group of publication guideline developers; ongoing review of the literature on the epistemology of improvement and methods for evaluating complex social programmes; a two-day meeting of stakeholders for critical discussion and debate of the guidelines’ content and wording; and commentary on sequential versions of the guidelines from an expert consultant group. Finally, the authors consider the major differences between SQUIRE and the initial draft guidelines; limitations of and unresolved questions about SQUIRE; ancillary supporting documents and alternative versions that are under development; and plans for dissemination, testing and further development of SQUIRE.