Table 3.
Descriptive characteristics of included studies
| No. | Author Details | Year of Publication | Country | Data collection method | Data collection duration | Mean age of patients | Type of facility (s) | No. of facilities | Setting | Prescriber type (s) | No. of patient encounters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Abdella and Wabe [28]. | 2012 | Ethiopia | Retrospective | 1 year | n.s | Public | 1 | Urban | Health Officers | 384 |
| 2. | Adisa et al. [29]. | 2015 | Nigeria | Prospective | 3 months | ≥15 | Public | 8 | Urban | n.s | 400 |
| 3. | Afriyie and Tetteh [30]. | 2013 | Ghana | Retrospective | 7 months | n/s | Public | 1 | Urban | Medical assistants, Doctors | 120 |
| 4. | Afriyie et al. [31]. | 2015 | Ghana | Prospective | 6 months | n/s | Public | 1 | Urban | Medical assistants, doctors | 3127 |
| 5. | Ahiabu et al. [32]. | 2015 | Ghana | Retrospective | 1 year | n/s | Private & Public | 4 (public = 1, private = 3) | Urban | Doctors, medical assistants | 1600 |
| 6. | Angamo et al. [33]. | 2011 | Ethiopia | Prospective | 6 weeks | n/s | Public | 4 | Urban | n.s | 3058 |
| 7. | Babalola et al. [8]. | 2011 | Nigeria | Retrospective | 1 year | 19.4 years | Public | 20 | n/s | Community health workers, physicians, health assistants, pharmacy technicians, nurses and Pharmacist | 560 |
| 8. | Ball et al. [34] | 2000 | Zimbabwe | Prospective | n/s | n/s | Public | 1 | Urban | Nurses | 31 |
| 9. | Bantie [35] | 2014 | Ethiopia | Prospective | n/s | n/s | Public | 6 | n/s | n.s | 600 |
| 10. | Bexell et al. [36] | 1996 | Zambia | Retrospective | 3 months | n/s | Public | 8 | Urban | Clinical officers | 1167 |
| 11. | Boonstra et al. [37] | 2002 | Botswana | Prospective | n/s | 25.5 | Public | 30 | Rural & Urban | Registered nurse, Family nurse practitioner | 2994 |
| 12. | Boonstra et al. [38] | 2005 | Botswana | Prospective | n.s | <5 | Public | 30 | Rural & Urban | Nurses | 255 |
| 13. | Bosu and Ofori-Adjei [39] | 2000 | Ghana | Retrospective | 1 year | 15 years | Public | 6 | Rural | Doctors and medical assistants | 585 |
| 14. | Desta et al. [40] | 1997 | Ethiopia | Prospective & Retrospective | Prospective 1–2 days Retrospective-1 year |
n/s | Public | 18 | n/s | n.s | 2340 |
| 15. | Dippenar et al. [41] | 2006 | South Africa | Prospective | 2 month | n/s | Public | 1 | Urban | Doctors, nurses | 1000 |
| 16. | Enato et al. [42] | 2012 | Nigeria | Retrospective | 6 months | n/s | Public | 1 | Rural | Doctors, nurses | 315 |
| 17. | Enato et al. [43] | 2013 | Nigeria | Retrospective | 1 year | n/s | Public | 3 | Urban | Community health officers | 1440 |
| 18. | Isah. [44] | 2008 | Nigeria | Retrospective | 1 year | n/s | Private | 20 | Rural | n.s | 2510 |
| 19. | Kapp et al. [45] | 2013 | South Africa | Retrospective | 3 months | 41.0 years | Public | 4 | Urban | n.s | 400 |
| 20. | Katende-Kyenda et al. [46] | 2007 | South Africa | Retrospective | 1 year | n.s | private | 9 | Urban | n.s | 83,655 |
| 21. | Krause et al. [47] | 1999 | Burkina Faso | Prospective | 2 months | n/s | Public | 9 | Rural | nurses | 313 |
| 22. | Massele and Nsimba. [48] | 1997 | Tanzania | Prospective | 20 days | n/s | Public & Private | 40 (public = 20, private = 20) | Urban | n.s | 1200 |
| 23. | Massele et al. [49] | 2001 | Tanzania | Retrospective | 14 months | n/s | Private | 20 | Rural & Urban | Doctors | 1200 |
| 24. | Massele et al. [50] | 2007 | Tanzania | Retrospective | 1 year | n/s | Public & Private | 20 (public = 10, Private = 10) | n/s | n.s | 2000 |
| 25. | Massele et al. [51] | 2012 | Tanzania | Prospective | 3 months | n/s | Public & Private | 20 (public = 10, private = 10) | Urban | Clinical officers, and other paramedics | 2000 |
| 26. | Meyer et al. [52] | 2001 | South Africa | Retrospective | 1 month | n/s | Public | 22 | n/s | Nurses | 1287 |
| 27. | Mohlala et al. [53] | 2010 | South Africa | Prospective | 5 months | n/s | Private | 36 | Rural & Urban | Doctors | 276 |
| 28. | Nsimba et al. [54] | 2004 | Tanzania | Retrospective | 1 year | n/s | Private | 10 | n/s | n.s | 600 |
| 29. | Nsimba [55] | 2006 | Tanzania | Prospective | n/s | <5 years | Public | 10 | n/s | n.s | 652 |
| 30. | Odusanya and Oyediran [7] | 2000 | Nigeria | Retrospective | 6 months | n/s | Public | 12 | n/s | Community health officers, Public health nurses | 650 |
| 31. | Olayemi et al. [56] | 2006 | Nigeria | Prospective & Retrospective | Prospective-2–3days Retrospective-n/s |
n/s | Public | 20 | Rural & Urban | n.s | 1560 |
| 32. | Oyeyemi and Ogunleye [57] | 2013 | Nigeria | Retrospective | 1 year | 34 years | Public | 4 | Urban | Medical officer, community health officer, nurses and community health extension workers | 600 |
| 33. | Phillips-Howard et al. [58] | 2003 | Kenya | Retrospective | 1 year | <5 | Public | 8 | Rural | n.s | 9318 |
| 34. | Risk et al. [59] | 2013 | Gambia | Retrospective | 1 year | 1.71 | Public | 20 | Rural & Urban | n.s | 2400 |
| 35. | Savadogo et al. [60] | 2014 | Burkina Faso | Prospective | 1 month | <5 | Public | 2 | Urban | n.s | 376 |
| 36. | Shiferaw et al. [61] | 2010 | Ethiopia | Retrospective | 1 year | n/s | Public | 19 | n/s | n.s | 731 |
| 37. | Sisay and Mekonnen [62] | 2012 | Ethiopia | Retrospective | 2 years | n.s | Public | 2 | Urban | n.s | 424 |
| 38. | Suleman et al. [63] | 2013 | Nigeria | Retrospective | 3 months | n/s | Public | 10 | n/s | n.s | 222 |
| 39. | Tamuno [64] | 2011 | Nigeria | Retrospective | 1 year | n.s | Private | 10 | Urban | n.s | 998 |
| 40. | Trap et al. [22] | 2002 | Zimbabwe | Retrospective | <6 months | n/s | Private | 57 | Urban | Doctors | 1699 |
| 41. | Truter et al. [65] | 2010 | South Africa | Retrospective | 8 weeks | n/s | Public | 1m | Rural | Supervised student trainees | 4026 |
| 42. | Tsega et al. [66] | 2012 | Ethiopia | Retrospective | 1 year | 25 years | Public & Private | 11 (public = 3, private = 8) | Rural & Urban | n.s | 600 |
| 43. | Uzochukwu et al. [67] | 2002 | Nigeria | Retrospective | n/s | n/s | Public | 33 | n/s | n.s | 1650 |
n.s not specified, m mobile clinic