Table 1.
Characteristics of included studies
| N | Authors, year | Country (income group) | Setting | Study design | Data collection | Sampling | Sample size | Gender | Age/average |
| 1 | Ashmore, 201344 | South Africa (upper-middle income) | Urban | Qualitative | Semi-structured interviews (primary and follow-ups) | Purposive | 51 (28 dual practice doctors and 23 policy-makers/managers) | 64% males 36% females |
29–63/not stated |
| 2 | Chen et al, 201738 | China (upper-middle income) | Rural | Qualitative | Focus groups | Not stated | 39 doctors | 59% males 41% females |
Not stated/38–47 (in five different settings) |
| 3 | Feliciano et al, 201141 | Brazil (upper-middle income) | Urban | Qualitative | Semi-structured interviews | Purposive | 24 doctors (12 paediatricians; 8 general practitioners, psychiatrist, infectologists, obstetric gynaecologist, anaesthesiologist) | 66.7% males 33.3% females |
Not stated |
| 4 | Kotzee and Couper, 200640 | South Africa (upper-middle income) | Rural | Qualitative | Semi-structured interviews | Unclear: random or purposive (both stated) | 10 non-specialist qualified doctors | 60% males 40% females |
25–36/not stated |
| 5 | Li et al, 201739 | China (upper-middle income) | Rural | Mixed methods | Semi-structured interviews | Purposive | 34 (21 village doctors and 13 managers) | 76.5% males 23.5% females |
Not stated |
| 6 | Liadova et al, 201743 | Russia (upper-middle income) | Urban | Mixed methods | In-depth interviews | Not stated | 50 emergency doctors | 60% males 40% females |
25–50/not stated |
| 7 | Luboga et al, 201046 | Uganda (low income) | Not stated | Mixed methods | Focus groups | Stratified random | 49 doctors | 90% males 10% females |
26-70/36 |
| 8 | Malik et al, 201045 | Pakistan (lower-middle income) | Urban | Mixed methods | Open-ended questionnaire | Stratified random | 360 doctors | 50% males 50% females |
Not stated |
| 9 | Shah et al, 201631 | Pakistan (lower-middle income) | Rural | Qualitative | Semi-structured and in-depth interviews | Not stated | 22 (16 doctors and 6 managers/administrators) | 86.4% males 13.6% females |
Not stated/38 |
| 10 | Wallace and Brinister, 201042 | Moldova (lower-middle income) |
Urban | Qualitative | In-depth interviews | Purposive | 20 family physicians | 100% females | Not stated/ 42.4±7.2 |