Table 1.

Article characteristics.

Author(s) and Year of Publication	Country of study	Aim of study	Data collection methods	Focus of study	Findings
4. Abuya et al. [1]	Kenya	To describe the implementation process of the Kenyan output based approach (OBA) program and draw implications for scale up.	Document review and qualitative in-depth interviews	Implementation	Document analysis did not provide all answers about the policy as details around events related to the policy and full views of stakeholders were not found in available reports.
16. Belaid and Ridde [5]	Bukina Faso	To analyse perceptions of policy implementers throughout all stages of the policy implementation process.	Document reviews, interviews and non-participant observations and FGDs.	Implementation	Documents were screened and analysed to better understand the history of the policy and context in which it was implemented.
21. Beran et al. [73]	Multi-country (Kyrgyzstan, Mali, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Vietnam, and Zambia.)	To identify factors that influences the implementation of the policy by policy makers.	In-depth interviews, online questionnaire, and document reviews.	Implementation	Researchers had difficulties accessing documents for the policy analysis and established that failure to access published work hinders the understanding of the impact of policy implementation processes.
22. Bertone et al. [6]	Seirra Leon	To examine the trajectory and determinants of the policy in the post conflict policy environment.	Key informant interviews, stakeholder workshops and document reviews	Policy formulation.	Very little and fragmented documents leading contradictory and vague data found in available documents. However, the few documents found helped formulate preliminary hypotheses and illuminate on gaps from other data collection methods.
28. Chimhutu et al. [10]	Tanzania	To describe the policy process. A qualitative research designs.	In-depth interviews, observations and document reviews.	Policy formulation	Documents helped provide some background information to the study, define questions and trajectories pursued in the other data collection methods. Documents were also helped to uncover the political frames surrounding the policy.
31. Colombini et al. [12]	Nepal	To analyse the historical process of the policy.	Document analysis.	Policy formulation	Despite the provision of background information, documents analysis did not help explain factors leading to contextual and political events leading to the policy.
33. Chimeddamba et al. [76]	Mongolia	To evaluate the extent to which non-communicable diseases (NCD) policies are aligned with WHO NCD control	Document reviews.	Implementation/ policy formulation	Identified that policy processes are not always contained in a document; undocumented policy omissions are also policy actions/inaction. The chronological order of policy documents helped complement existing policy documents and made the policy more popular.
34. Dalglish et al. [13]	Niger	To explore the dimensions of power in health policy making.	Semi-structured interviews, document reviews and contextual analysis.	Implementation/policy formulation	Documents helped with validation of data from respondents, assisted with compiling of the policy’s timeline and political context. However, most were unavailable due to the destruction of WHO-Niger servers by fire in 2007.
40. Doherty [14]	Multicountry (Botswana, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe)	To identify major implementation problems with the policy and suggest strategies for better implementation.	Document review and interviews.	Implementation	Found that with incomplete documents, researcher’s meet difficulties in making conclusions about a policy's events leading to its implementation.
44. Doshmangir et al. [15]	Iran	To develop a policy map of the events leading to the milestones of the policy process.	Document reviews and interview	Implementation/ policy formulation	Documents helped clarify different technical terms used by respondents and provided a rich source of information of how the policy entered onto the policy agenda.
45. El-Jardali et al. [18]	Lebanon	To generate insights about how policies are made.	Document reviews and key informant interviews.	Implementation/ policy formulation.	Documents identification was facilitated by interviews and media analysis which helped validate data from interviews and media outputs.
54. Juma et al. [81]	Kenya	To analyse ICCM policy development and the decision-making criteria by policy makers.	Semi-structured interviews, document reviews	Policy formulation	Documents provided the timeline for policy development, policy content and processes. They also informed decisions on the policy and development of training guidelines.
57. Koduah et al. [32]	Ghana	To understand how a policy attained political priority and sustained.	Document analysis, in-depth interviews and participant participation.	Policy formulation	Documents helped map and summarise the historical sequence of events, identifying and classifying policy actors. They also helped triangulate findings from other sources of data.
74. Muga and Jenkins [40]	Kenya	To examine the evolution of the mental health policy from 1965 to 1997.	Document reviews and interviews.	Policy content	Documents helped identify gaps between documented policy progress and actual state of policy by defining the country’s general health policy and distinct historical periods of the current policy.
78. Nguyen et al. [79]	Vietnam	To analyse the medicine pricing policies.	Documentary analysis	Policy formulation	Though documents did not contain answers, they helped identify a reliable and systematic source of data for examining medicine prices applicable to developing countries.
91. Nguyen et al. [77]	Vietnam	To analyse the policy development and understand the obstacles to its implementation	Key informant interviews and document reviews.	Policy formulation and implementation.	Documents provided information on policy content changes, sometimes on the actors, but rarely on how and why these changes happened. Documents helped understand whether changes in one document led to changes in the subsequent policy documents.
92. Place et al. [75]	Mexico	To examine policies regarding postnatal depression	Document reviews.	Policy content	Some policy documents were still in draft form and rendered the HPA inconclusive. A significant number of documents did not contain a specific search term and were excluded leading to loss of documents with potentially useful data about the policy.
94. Rawal et al. [48]	Bangladesh	To aid in the development of appropriate rural retention in Bangladesh.	Interviews, round table discussions and document reviews.	Policy Implementation	Number of included documents increased based on consultation with policy key informants. They identified the need for regular revision of documents as data contained in the documents was old.
81. Odoch et al. [80]	Uganda	To explore the policy process of the introduction of a new policy.	Document reviews	Policy formulation and implementation	Newspaper articles, and other published reports minimized the effects of scarce meeting minutes containing data of the negotiations, formulation and policy implementation.
97. Rodriguez et al. [49]	Malawi	To explore the critical issues in the formulation and implementation of the policy.	Documentary review and in-depth interviews.	Policy formulation and implementation	Documents were used to draw out key events leading to the development of the policy as well as the role and experiences of policy implementers which echoed burn out and unresolved issues related to the policy.
98. Semansky et al. [53]	New Mexico	To examine how the reform impacted the culturally competent services (CCS).	Surveys and document reviews.	Policy Implementation	Documents reviews revealed that for three years the policy was not revised or evaluated to assess the capacity to implement it or evaluate its progress.
100. Singh et al. [57]	South Africa	To determine if oral health elements are coherent with the health policies of post-apartheid era.	Document reviews and interviews.	Policy content.	As there were many different and conflicting documents regarding the same policy, document reviews helped identify one policy document with clear statements on health promotion and oral health and the content therein.
102. Taegtmeyer et al. [58]	Kenya	To examine the policy implications and analyse it against a specific framework.	Document reviews and in-depth interviews.	Policy formulation	Documents reviewed helped identify the absence of data recording with regards to policy’s distinct events and justified why actions were not being implemented by policy makers.
105. Toure et al. [61]	Multicountry (Benin, Chad, Ethiopia, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Swaziland and Togo)	To assess the evolution of African union policies related to women’s and children’s health.	Document review	Policy content and formulation	Found that highly referenced documents and elements acted as entry points for policy issues onto the agenda and sustained issues on the policy agenda. Documents also acted as advocacy instruments as the more articles were written on a policy issue the more attention it got from policy makers.
109. Vuong et al. [63]	Vietnam	To identify the factors that prompted the policy change and its impact on the people using the drug.	Document reviews	Policy formulation	Through document reviews, lack of policy coordination, inconsistencies between legal documents and their contents were identified and acted as evidence to why there was tension between stakeholders and why some policies were being implemented in segregation or failed.
110. Watson-Jones et al. [68]	Tanzania	To explore the feasibility of the policy after introducing to existing policies.	Document reviews and interviews.	Policy formulation and implementation.	Documents were used to verify specific statements and actions in the policies reviewed. Documents reviews identified pertinent issues related to the policy integration onto the larger health services interventions such as financial and human resources limitations.
116. Witter et al. [78]	Sierra Leon	To analyse and document the effects of the free health care Initiatives on health workers.	Document reviews and key informant interviews.	Policy formulation and implementation.	Official documents helped track down the changes to health workers’ incentives in the post-conflict era, set the changes brought by the policy and highlight the current situation and challenges faced by policy implementers.
118. Yothasamut et al. [72]	Thailand	To analyse the process and factors that drove the policy innovation.	In-depth interviews and document reviews.	Policy formulation	Documents helped researchers identify key features of the policy; challenges, cost effectiveness and positions of stakeholders affected by the policy.
118. Yothasamut et al. [72]	Thailand	To analyse the process and factors that drove the policy innovation.	In-depth interviews and document reviews.	Policy formulation	Documents helped researchers identify key features of the policy; challenges, cost effectiveness and positions of stakeholders affected by the policy.

The table provides a summary of the study location, aim for conducting HPA, focus of policy cycle and findings obtained through document analysis.