Table 1 Inclusion and exclusion criteria based on Population, intervention, comparators and designs, outcomes and time (PICOT) framework

Population

Geographic area

All countries

Establishment

Long-term care: nursing homes, assisted-living facilities, homes for the aged, retirement homes

Residents

All residents of LTCFs

Infections

Influenza viruses, noroviruses, Salmonella sp., Group A Streptococcus, Sarcoptes scabei, Clostridium difficile, Escherichia coli, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), Legionella spp., Parainfluenza viruses, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Adenoviruses (epidemic keratoconjunctivitis), Hepatitis B virus, Clostridium perfringens, Rhinoviruses, Chlamydia pneumoniae, Shigella sp., Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Coronaviruses (SARS-CoV-2), Rotaviruses, Campylobacter sp., Trichophyton

Interventions

Clinical best practices (CBPs)

Hand hygiene; hygiene and sanitation; screening on admission; basic and additional precautions

Antibiotics, any other medications

Comparators and designs

Quantitative studies: controlled clinical trials, randomised clinical trials, cohort studies, longitudinal studies, follow-up studies, prospective studies, retrospective studies, cross-sectional studies, mathematical/statistical modelling, and simulations

Qualitative studies, literature reviews (systematic reviews, meta-analyses, meta-syntheses, scoping reviews)

Outcomes

Types of economic evaluation

Economic evaluation’s measures

Cost-minimization analysis, cost-effectiveness analysis, cost-utility analysis, cost-benefit analysis, or cost-consequences analysis

Costs estimates of CBPs, incremental cost-effectiveness ratio, incremental cost per quality-adjusted life-year, incremental cost per disability-adjusted life-year and the incremental cost-benefit ratio, net costs, and net cost savings

Technological assessments, purely clinical studies, pharmacological studies