Introduction:

The Delphi method is a technique that allows consensus to be reached by a group of experts who have opinions on a specific issue. It has been widely used in different areas of knowledge, including health sciences. Rheumatology is one of the medical specialties that has used this consensus technique the most.

Objectives:

To conduct a review of the ideal process for application of the Delphi method. To describe the current impact of the Delphi method on health research, and take a critical look at its application in rheumatology research.

Materials and methods:

The frequency of use of the Delphi method in publications indexed in MEDLINE was evaluated, as an approximation to the measurement of its use in health sciences. A search was made of the articles that mentioned the use of the Delphi method as a research tool in rheumatology.

Results:

A total of 4,574 articles were found when searching Medline using the MeSH term "Delphi Technique". The analysis included 148 articles that applied the Delphi method in rheumatology research. It was found that the application of the method did not follow the guidelines originally defined. This was due to not meeting its defining characteristics, or omitting some of its phases. There was also lack of rigour in developing it, to the point that only a fifth of the articles analysed fulfilled the defining characteristics of the method. All these can put the validity of the results reported by these investigations at risk.

Conclusions:

Use of the Delphi method in health research is growing, and rheumatology is no exception. The lack of standardisation and adherence to the Delphi methodology may jeopardise the validity of the results obtained from its use in research. Researchers must take into account the basic methodological aspects that define the Delphi method, in order to include them in their work.

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