Contents of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement*
| Section | Description |
|---|---|
| Preamble | The preamble orients readers to the intention and proposed usage of USPSTF recommendations with regard to clinical practice. |
| Summary Statement | This statement describes the recommendation and includes the letter grade. This is the "bottom line" of the USPSTF's statement |
| Structured Rationale | The structured rationale is a brief summary of the USPSTF's reasoning for its recommendation. This section concludes with a brief overall assessment of the evidence. |
| Clinical Considerations | This section gives clinicians detailed information about how to provide or offer the preventive service within the clinical setting. |
| Other Considerations | This section provides information that may assist clinicians and policymakers on cost and cost-effectiveness, resources required to implement the service, mandates, and current practice. Identified priorities for future research and research funding are also included. |
| Discussion | This section summarizes the USPSTF's interpretation of important individual studies or groups of studies and indicates how the evidence justifies the recommendations made. The reader should come away from this section with a general appreciation of the topic and especially the evidence that the USPSTF uses to support each recommendation. |
| Recommendations of Others | This section summarizes how other organizations and professional groups have judged the use or performance of this service. |
| References | This section provides a small sample of the important literature on a topic and includes the citation of the evidence review. |
| Tables | Two tables are published with each recommendation: "What the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Grades Mean and Suggestions for Practice" and "U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Levels of Certainty Regarding Net Benefit." |
* USPSTF = U.S. Preventive Task Services Task Force.
Current as of: July 2007