Standards for Rapid Evaluation and Appraisal Methods (STREAM)

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Timeliness has been highlighted as a key factor influencing the utility of research and evaluation findings in healthcare as only findings shared at time points when they are able to inform decision-making will be able to produce improvements in care. A wide range of rapid evaluation, assessment and appraisal approaches have been developed to make findings available when they are most needed, but challenges in their design and implementation have raised concerns regarding their rigour and the validity of the findings. One way to improve the transparency and completeness of reporting and increase the quality of studies is through the development of reporting standards. Reporting standards can provide a framework for the review and assessment of studies and facilitate the use of findings. There are no published and validated standards or guidelines for rapid evaluations, assessments and appraisals. The aim of this project will be to develop the Standards for Rapid Evaluation and Appraisal Methods (STREAM) so these can be used as: 1) guidelines for the design and implementation of rapid evaluations, assessments and appraisals in healthcare, 2) reporting templates, and 3) a quality assessment tool. We will follow established guidance for the development of health research reporting guidelines, and the first step in the development of these standards will be to carry out a systematic review to update and expand a published review led by our team on the use of rapid evaluations in healthcare. The findings from this review and a consultation with a group of stakeholders will be used to create a set of principles that will be considered in a subsequent consensus e-Delphi process. The e-Delphi process will consist of three rounds of surveying panel experts and quarterly meetings with stakeholders to discuss emerging findings. The group of stakeholders will include rapid research and evaluation experts, lived experience researchers, patient representatives, users of rapid evaluation and appraisal findings (in healthcare organisations, third sector organisations and in the context of policy). This exercise will lead to the development of a first draft of STREAM that will be discussed and piloted during two online workshops with the group of stakeholders. STREAM will be revised to develop a final version. Findings from this consultation (a list of standards) will be submitted for peer reviewed publication. We will also develop an accessible manual and toolkit composed of a series of infographics (on the guidelines, reporting template and quality assessment tool) and an animation explaining their use. These materials will be incorporated into the regular training imparted by our research group and we will establish legacy plans to review STREAM regularly and publish adjustments.