The recommendations for practice made in the NIPCM are based on living systematic literature reviews. Any changes identified in the scientific literature may lead to a change being made to the NIPCM following stakeholder engagement.
Literature reviews are undertaken following agreed processes for evidence identification and appraisal as well as following defined governance structures before publication on the NIPCM. Details on the research methods and terms used can be found in the Development Methodology document.
The scientific evidence for the NIPCM is reviewed on a real time basis and details of the reviews reported quarterly.
Please note that changes to the methodology are currently being piloted with the IPC Working Groups to increase transparency and improve rigour of development of the NIPCM. Following approval by the ARHAI Scotland IPC Oversight and Advisory Group, the development process will be updated. It is anticipated that review of the pilot methodology will be complete by December 2024. The draft methodology is available to view.