Guidelines are “systematically developed statements about specific clinical problems intented to assist practitioners and patients in making decisions about appropriate health care”. Ref: Institute of Medicine. Guidelines for clinical practice: from development to use. Edited by: Field MJ Lohr KN. Washington, DC: National Academy Press; 1992

The development and updating of high-quality practice guidelines to promote optimal, consistent health care requires substantial resources. Most organisations face pressure to produce more guidelines in a shorter time with increasingly limited resources. Guideline adaptation reduces duplication by taking advantage of existing guidelines.

The ADAPTE Collaboration has developed a systematic approach for the adaptation of guidelines produced for use in one cultural and organisational context to be used in a different cultural and organisational context.