Table 1 Defining guidance

Guidance in the context of health systems can be defined as “systematically developed statements produced at global or national levels to assist decisions about appropriate options for addressing a health systems challenge in a range of settings and to assist with the implementation of these options and their monitoring and evaluation” [49].

The term “guidance” can be seen as preferable to the more prescriptive term “guidelines” as health systems, public health and other complex interventions, and the evidence on these issues are often very context sensitive. Health systems guidance statements (which are also sometimes referred to as recommendations) would usually include policy options accompanied by assessments of the quality of evidence supporting them, including evidence of unintended consequences and of acceptability and feasibility issues and resource use. Guidance statements may also be accompanied by discussions of implementation and contextual issues.