Table 1 Inclusion and exclusion criteria
From: What factors affect patients’ access to healthcare? Protocol for an overview of systematic reviews
Include | Exclude |
|---|---|
Type of study | |
Systematic reviews. Defined for inclusivity as a review in which systematic searches are conducted in at least 2 sources, at least 1 being an electronic database, and in which systematic methods are used for data extraction and synthesis. | Any study that is not a systematic review as per the definition opposite. |
Overviews (systematic reviews of systematic reviews), as the reviews they include tend to be more dated. However, reference lists will be reviewed to ensure eligible reviews they identify are included. | |
Subject of study | |
Studies for which access to healthcare is the main focus. | Studies for which access to healthcare is not the main focus. |
Systematic reviews for which barriers/facilitators to healthcare access are identified as an outcome of interest. | Studies which discuss barriers/facilitators to access only in the context of the topic but not as an outcome of the review. |
Studies which do not identify barriers or facilitators to accessing healthcare as an outcome of interest | |
Studies that identify demand-side (patient factors) or supply-side (healthcare provider factors) barriers/facilitators to healthcare access. | Studies that present barriers/facilitators to the implementation of a specific intervention without any focus on how that affects access to healthcare. |
Systematic reviews which focus on only one barrier, facilitator or intervention affecting access to healthcare. | |
Studies where barriers/facilitators to utilization are identified from the review (in this case utilization may be a proxy measure for access). | Studies that focus on ways to reduce utilization of healthcare (rather than improve access). |
Types of intervention | |
Any intervention or service which is a means of providing healthcare to living humans. | Interventions relating to post-mortem activities. |
Types of participants | |
Reviews based on any disease or condition affecting living humans. | Animal studies or post-mortem studies. |
Type of publication | |
Published, peer reviewed articles or non-peer reviewed reports published through Gates, WHO or World Bank websites. | Conference proceedings, protocol papers and any publication for which sufficient details to determine eligibility cannot be obtained. |
Articles written in English | Articles written in any language other than English. |
Time frame | |
Articles published in the last 5 years, i.e. 1 January 14–current. | Articles published before 1 January 2014. |