Table 2.
Characteristics of included methods guidance products
| Guidance (n = 247) | |
|---|---|
| Publication year | |
| 2000–2005 | 12 (5%) |
| 2006–2010 | 19 (8%) |
| 2011–2015 | 57 (23%) |
| 2016–2020 | 77 (31%) |
| 2021–2024 | 79 (32%) |
| Publication year not reported | 3 (1%) |
| Type of guidance 1 | |
| Evidence synthesis | 155 |
| Systematic review of quantitative data | 116 (75%) |
| Scoping review | 9 (6%) |
| Evidence (gap) map | 1 (0.6%) |
| Overview of reviews/umbrella review | 8 (5%) |
| Qualitative evidence synthesis | 19 (12%) |
| Mixed-methods evidence synthesis | 5 (3%) |
| Other | 4 (3%) |
| Evidence-based advice | 98 |
| Health technology assessment | 11 (11%) |
| Guidelines/recommendations | 77 (79%) |
| Evidence-to-decision considerations | 10 (10%) |
| Other | 6 (6%) |
| Health area | |
| Infectious diseases | 12 (5%) |
| Non-communicable diseases | 23 (9%) |
| Injuries | 3 (1%) |
| Generic | 212 (86%) |
| Focus area | |
| Clinical | 80 (32%) |
| Public health | 41 (17%) |
| Service delivery | 12 (5%) |
| Generic | 138 (56%) |
| Cross-cutting themes addressed | |
| Equity | 19 (8%) |
| Complexity | 17 (7%) |
| Stakeholder engagement/participation | 13 (5%) |
| Adaptation | 5 (2%) |
| Automation/machine learning | 4 (2%) |
| Context & implementation | 16 (6%) |
| Ethics | 8 (3%) |
| Production mode | |
| Normal | 215 (87%) |
| Rapid | 19 (8%) |
| Ultra-rapid | 0 |
| Living | 15 (6%) |
1Some guidance products fall into more than one sub-category, therefore the percentages in each category do not add up to 100%.