Table 3.
Characteristics of included articles and countries covered
| A. Characteristics of all included articles | N = 60 | % |
| Specific implementation outcomes(a) | ||
| - Feasibility | 1 | 1.7 |
| - Acceptability | 5 | 8.3 |
| - Compliance | 57 | 95.0 |
| Year of publication | ||
| • 1990–2000 | 4 | 6.7 |
| • 2001–2010 | 3 | 5.0 |
| • 2011–2020 | 30 | 50.0 |
| • 2021–2022 (last 2 years) | 23 | 38.3 |
| Study design | ||
| • Quantitative study | 33 | 55.0 |
| • Qualitative study | 19 | 31.7 |
| • Mixed method | 8 | 13.3 |
| Study sites | ||
| • Multiple countries | 7 | 11.7 |
| • Single country | 53 | 88.3 |
| B. Characteristics of study countries covered in the included articles | N = 28 | (%) |
| WHO regions | ||
| • African | 8 | 28.6 |
| • Americas | 5 | 17.9 |
| • Eastern Mediterranean | 1 | 3.6 |
| • European | 3 | 10.7 |
| • South-East Asia | 6 | 21.4 |
| • Western Pacific | 5 | 17.9 |
| Income | ||
| • Low-income country | 2 | 7.1 |
| • Middle-income country | 20 | 71.4 |
| • High-income country | 6 | 21.4 |
| Status of legal provisions in national law as rated by WHO [18] | ||
| • Weak (included some provisions of the Code) | 9 | 32.1 |
| • Moderate (included many provisions of the Code) | 10 | 35.7 |
| • Strong (included most provisions of the Code) | 9 | 32.1 |
Note: (a) one article can have more than one implementation outcome