7.K. Scientific session: Adapting guidelines across different national settings: lessons learnt from adapting NICE guidelines

Cyprus, an Eastern Mediterranean nation and a European Union member, underwent a significant healthcare transformation with the introduction of the General Healthcare System (GHS) in 2019. This reform established a single-payer model under the Health Insurance Organization (HIO), ensuring equal access to healthcare services through a network of public and private providers. The GHS aims to deliver high-quality, sustainable healthcare, improving long-term survival, healthy life expectancy, and overall quality of life. While initial evaluations of the system have been positive, certain challenges have emerged, including inconsistencies in clinical practice. One contributing factor is the lack of a standardized medical training system designed to enhance efficiency and sustainability. The adoption of locally adapted guidelines could help address these inconsistencies, promoting equitable care, optimizing resource allocation, and enabling more effective clinical auditing. Creating new clinical guidelines from scratch is a complex, time-intensive, and resource-heavy endeavor. However, adapting existing guidelines for local use offers a more efficient alternative, reducing redundant efforts and fostering greater acceptance by involving local stakeholders in the process. To bridge this gap, the HIO, the University of Cyprus (UCY), and the United Kingdom's (UK) National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) formed a strategic partnership. With over 25 years of experience in rigorous guideline development, NICE also provides support for adapting its guidelines to different national contexts through a structured and supervised process based on a modified version of the ADAPTE framework. This approach not only facilitates the localization of guidelines but also strengthens local expertise in guideline development and quality indicator formulation, ensuring greater ownership and long-term sustainability of adapted recommendations. The objectives of this scientific session, through four oral presentations, an open discussion, and ample interaction, are to outline the methodology and share insights from the process of adapting six NICE guidelines and developing corresponding quality indicators for implementation in Cyprus. Attendees will have the opportunity to share experiences and brainstorm potential solutions relevant to their own national or regional settings, and to ask questions and receive feedback during the Question-and-Answer segments. The added value of this session is that the Cypriot experience holds valuable lessons for other European nations, particularly smaller states or those seeking a more efficient approach to evidence-based policy. Through strategic international partnerships and tailored methodologies like ADAPTE, countries can overcome barriers related to resource scarcity, increase standardization of care, and uphold high-quality clinical and public health practice. Key messages • Globalize evidence – localize recommendations. Effective guideline development and adaptation require tailoring global evidence to the specific realities of a country, region, or healthcare setting. • The Cyprus-NICE model shows how global evidence could be interpreted through the lens of local healthcare priorities, resources, and cultural norms.