Table 1 Contextual factors to consider when refining the review scope and specifying the question

Specify the context of the review question, including:

Micro-context

 The population––specify any specific characteristics, perspectives or subgroups of the population (e.g. pregnant African women living in African countries)

 The setting––such as hospital, private provider, timeframe of interest (e.g. publicly funded hospitals from 2000 to present time)

 The place––such as geographical location, political system (e.g. African countries––state-funded healthcare)

Meso-context

 The intervention (where applicable)––specify the intervention and components of interest (e.g. medically assisted birth in a state-funded hospital)

Macro-context

 The policy, political issues, social climate or legislation––such as the policy context and legal framework associated with the phenomenon of interest (e.g. updating clinical and midwifery guidelines from African countries to promote safer birth and woman-centred care)

Cross cutting

 The phenomenon of interest––(e.g. the experiences of African women regarding medically assisted birth in public hospitals in African countries)

Suggested frameworks for considering context include PROGRESS-Plus [33], the PRISMA-Equity extension [34] and the CICI Framework [35]. PROGRESS is an acronym for Place of Residence, Race/ Ethnicity, Occupation, Gender, Religion, Education, Socioeconomic Status, and Social Capital and Plus represents additional categories such as Age, Disability and Sexual Orientation

Suggested frameworks for describing the intervention include the i_CAT_SR tool [36] and TIDIER [37].