Table 2.
Frequency of main study characteristics
| Count (%)a | ||
|---|---|---|
| Publication year | 2016–2020 | 43 (49%) |
| 2011–2015 | 34 (39%) | |
| 2005–2010 | 11 (12%) | |
| Quality appraisal (4* being lowest risk of bias) | 4* | 4 (4%) |
| 3* | 37 (42%) | |
| 2* | 33 (38%) | |
| 1* | 14 (16%) | |
| Study type | Randomized controlled trial | 21 (24%) |
| Nonrandomized controlled trial | 3 (3%) | |
| Cohort study | 5 (6%) | |
| Before and after study | 8 (9%) | |
| Cross sectional study | 3 (3%) | |
| Other quantitative study | 11 (12%) | |
| Qualitative study | 27 (31%) | |
| Mixed methods study | 10 (11%) | |
| Continent | North America | 57 (65%) |
| Europe | 26 (30%) | |
| Asia | 4 (4%) | |
| Australia | 1 (1%) | |
| Setting | Hospital care (including secondary and tertiary settings) | 51 (58%) |
| Outpatient care (including specialty and primary care settings) | 36 (41%) | |
| Nursing home | 1 (1%) | |
| Specialty area | Medication safety | 19 (22%) |
| Diabetes | 17 (19%) | |
| Cardiovascular | 15 (17%) | |
| Respiratory | 6 (7%) | |
| Oncology | 9 (10%) | |
| Nephrology | 2 (2%) | |
| Geriatrics | 4 (4%) | |
| General medicine | 4 (4%) | |
| Infectious disease | 11 (12%) | |
| Surgery | 5 (6%) | |
| Obstetrics | 1 (1%) | |
| Pediatrics | 3 (3%) | |
| Radiology | 4 (4%) | |
| Psychiatry (including substance misuse) | 5 (6%) | |
a
Counts may add to more than 100% where papers are in multiple categories.