Table 2. General characteristics of the included publications.
| Sample 1 (N = 144) 6 | Sample 2 (N = 115) 6 | |
|---|---|---|
| n (%) | n (%) | |
| Type of research: | ||
| Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) | 5 (3) | 115 (100) |
| Non-randomized studies | 64 (45) | 0 (0) |
| qualitative | 18 (13) | 0 (0) |
| survey | 5 (3) | 0 (0) |
| systematic reviews | 13 (9) | 0 (0) |
| case reports | 17 (12) | 0 (0) |
| Other: | 22 (15) | 0 (0) |
| COVID 19 topic | 11 (8) | 2 (3) |
| Number of authors | Med = 6, IQR = [4–8] | Med = 6, IQR = [5–10] |
| First author’s primary affiliation: | ||
| Academic | 125 (87) | 107 (93) |
| Governmental | 8 (6) | 4 (3) |
| Intergovernmental | 0 (0) | 0 (0) |
| Not for profit organization, other than academic | 6 (4) | 3 (3) |
| Private for profit | 5 (3) | 1 (1) |
| Other | 0 (0) | 0 (0) |
| Classification of the affiliated country of the first author: | ||
| High income | 90 (63) | 70 (61) |
| Upper-middle income | 33 (23) | 17 (15) |
| Lower-middle income | 15 (10) | 23 (20) |
| Low income | 6 (4) | 5 (4) |
6 sample 1 includes articles of any type of original research. Sample 2 is restricted to only randomized controlled trials (RCTs)