Search strategy
Table 1 below represents the basic search string developed for this SR.
The full list of search strings that were used to inspect and search
each of the databases mentioned above is available in Supplementary
Material; Table S1. The search strings were developed through several
discussions among all the authors and were pretested several times in
the different databases in order to make sure valid and reliable
outcomes were obtained.
–Table 1 should come around here –
Eligibility
criteria
The focus of the SR was to analyse the literature reporting on the
effect of factors in adherence to treatment. The initial review included
both experimental and non-experimental studies, and the results of both
searches were analysed independently. The SR reported here focused only
on the experimental studies, excluding the non-experimental ones that
will be analysed and reported in a separate article. Studies published
within the last ten years (2011-2022) were considered. All eligible
studies had to be written in English. The population of interest in the
studies under review was restricted to adult human patients who had been
or were planning to be under treatment for a certain chronic or acute
physical condition. Consequently, treatment was defined as not only
medication taking, but also engaging in other health behaviours, such as
attending follow-up appointments, implementing lifestyle changes (e.g.,
avoiding certain foods, engaging in specific exercise), and using
medical devices. Finally, eligible publications had to report the effect
of one or more factors on treatment adherence to be included in this
review. The inclusion and exclusion criteria for the studies eligible
for this review are summarized in Table 2.
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Selection of studies for
inclusion