In response to the public health emergency and other urgent needs, World Health Organization (WHO) developed the concept and methodology of rapid advice guidelines (RAGs) in 2006. Compared with the standard guideline, striving to minimize the risk of bias, the RAG shortens the time to 1-3 months from more than 2 years. This study introduces the background, definition, application condition and performing methods of RAGs, and uses an example to clarify it, thus to provide a reference for the guideline development of public health emergency and other urgent need in China.
The Rapid Advice Guidelines (RAGs), prepared in the form of evidence-based guidelines for responding to public health emergencies in a short period, are characterized by their capability to significantly reduce the time for the development of guidelines to the maximum extent while ensuring quality. Therefore, the RAGs are primarily used to guide and respond to public health emergencies. This article will introduce the definition, characteristics, current situation, applicable situation, development methods, advantages and limitations of the RAGs. Our study proposes several suggestions for RAGs developers and researchers to improve development of RAGs in China.