Table 2 General characteristics of included studies (n = 65)
Characteristics | (n) | (%) |
|---|---|---|
Study designs | ||
 Two-arm parallel cluster randomised trial (CRT) | 49 | 75 |
 2 × 2 factorial design CRTs | 9 | 14 |
 Three-arm parallel CRTs | 5 | 8 |
 Stepped wedge designs | 2 | 3 |
Region | ||
 Sub-Saharan Africa | 36 | 55 |
 South Asia | 14 | 22 |
 Latin America & Caribbean | 6 | 9 |
 East Asia & Pacific | 6 | 9 |
 Multiple regions | 3 | 5 |
Intervention category | ||
 HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, dengue | 24 | 37 |
 Child health conditions | 19 | 29 |
 Maternal and newborn health | 14 | 22 |
 Non-communicable diseases | 8 | 12 |
Comparator (control group) | ||
 Receipt of usual services or care | 47 | 72 |
 Applied a simplified version of the intervention | 15 | 23 |
 Used placebo | 3 | 5 |
Intervention fidelity assessment | ||
 Protocol | ||
  4 dimensions | 2 | 3 |
  3 dimensions | 5 | 8 |
  2 dimensions | 11 | 17 |
  1 dimension | 18 | 28 |
  Not done | 29 | 44 |
 Trial | ||
  4 dimensions | 5 | 8 |
  3 dimensions | 18 | 28 |
  2 dimensions | 21 | 32 |
  1 dimension | 20 | 31 |
  Not done | 1 | 1 |