This section forms a structured abstract of the main features of the systematic review. It must be no longer than 500 words and should contain no abbreviations or references. The executive summary must accurately reflect and summarize the systematic review. The executive summary should include the following headings:
Background
This section should briefly describe the issue under review including the population, condition and context that are documented in the literature. The background should be an overview of the main issues. It should provide sufficient detail to justify why the review was conducted and the choice of the various elements such as the condition and context.
Objectives
The review objectives should be stated in full, as detailed in the protocol section.
Inclusion criteria:
Population:
The report should provide details about the types of participants included in the review. Useful details include: age range, gender, profession, etc. Information supporting the decisions about the types of participants should be explained in the background.
Condition: This section should present all the conditions examined, as detailed in the protocol.
Context: This section should present all the contexts examined, as detailed in the protocol.
Studies: As per the protocol section, the types of studies that were considered for the review should be included. There should be a statement about the target study type and whether or not this type was not found. The types of study identified by the search and those included should be detailed in the report.
Search strategy
A brief description of the search strategy should be included. This section should detail search activity (e.g. relevant databases searched, initial search terms or keywords, and any limitations) for the review, as predetermined in the protocol.
Methodological quality
Reviewer’s should make mention of how the studies included in the review were appraised.
Data extraction
This section should include a brief description of the types of data collected and the instrument (as specified in the protocol) used to extract data.
Data synthesis
This section should include a brief description of how the data was synthesised –as a meta-analysis or as a narrative summary or in a graphical form or in a tabular form.
Results
This section should include a brief description of the findings of the review.
Conclusions
This section should include a brief description of the conclusions of the review.
Implications for practice
This section should include a brief description of how the findings and conclusions of the review may be applied in practice, as well as any implications that the findings may have on current practice.
Implications for research
This section should include a brief description of how the findings of the review may lead to further research in the area- such as gaps identified in the body of knowledge.