Table 1.
Study Quality
| Criteria | Burgel et al., 2012 | Wang et al., 2014 | Murray et al., 2019 | Choi et al., 2016 | Elshatarat & Burgel, 2016 | Gany et al., 2015 | Gany et al., 2016 | Gany et al., 2014 | Schwer et al., 2010 | Burgel et al., 2017 | Mirpuri et al., 2018 | Gany et al., 2017 | Apantaku-Onayemi et al., 2012 | Gany et al., 2013 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
ALL
| ||||||||||||||
| 1. Are there clear research questions? | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| 2. Do the data allow to address the research questions? | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
|
MIXED METHODS (MM) | ||||||||||||||
| 1. Is there an adequate rationale for using a mixed methods design to address the research question? | X | ✓ | ✓ | |||||||||||
| 2. Are the different components of the study effectively integrated to answer the research question? | X | X | X | |||||||||||
| 3. Are the outputs of the integration of qualitative and quantitative components adequately interpreted? | X | X | X | |||||||||||
| 4. Are divergences and inconsistencies between quantitative and qualitative results adequately addressed? | X | ✓ | X | |||||||||||
| 5. Do the different components of the study adhere to the quality criteria of each tradition of the methods involved? | X | X | X | |||||||||||
|
QUANTITATIVE NON RANDOMIZED (QNR) | ||||||||||||||
| 1. Are the participants representative of the target population? | X | X | ✓ | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | ||||
| 2. Are the measurements appropriate regarding both the outcome and intervention (or exposure)? | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | X | ✓ | ✓ | ||||
| 3. Are there complete outcome data? (70%*) | ? | ? | ✓ | ? | ✓ | ✓ | X | ✓ | ? | ? | ||||
| 4. Are the confounders accounted for in the design and analysis? | ✓ | X | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||||
| 5. During the study period, is the intervention administered (or exposure occurred) as intended? | ✓ | ✓ | X | ✓ | X | ✓ | X | ✓ | ✓ | X | ||||
|
QUANTITATIVE DESCRIPTIVE (QD) | ||||||||||||||
| 1. Is the sampling strategy relevant to address the research question? | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||||||||||
| 2. Is the sample representative of the target population? | ✓ | X | ✓ | |||||||||||
| 3. Are the measurements appropriate? | ? | ✓ | ✓ | |||||||||||
| 4. Is the risk of nonresponse bias low? | ? | X | X | |||||||||||
| 5. Is the statistical analysis appropriate to answer the research question? | ? | ✓ | ✓ | |||||||||||
|
QUALITATIVE (QL) | ||||||||||||||
| 1. Is the qualitative approach appropriate to answer the research question? | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||||||||||
| 2. Are the qualitative data collection methods adequate to address the research question? | ✓ | X | ✓ | ✓ | ||||||||||
| 3. Are the findings adequately derived from the data? | ✓ | X | ✓ | ✓ | ||||||||||
| 4. Is the interpretation of results sufficiently substantiated by data? | ✓ | X | ✓ | ✓ | ||||||||||
| 5. Is there coherence between qualitative data sources, collection, analysis and interpretation? | ✓ | X | ✓ | ✓ | ||||||||||
Note: ✓ = Yes. X = No. ? = Can’t tell.
*
We established 70% complete outcome data as our threshold by reducing accepted outcome thresholds of 80%, to account for the highly mobile nature of the population (Thomas, 2004; Zaza, 2000).