Table 1 Terms and definitions^a

Types of considered health technologies

Describes whether the methods document relates to a specific type of intervention (pharmaceuticals, medical devices, medical services (procedures, diagnostics, public health interventions) or whether it is generic

Review Purpose

Describes the objective pursued by the preparation of the SR-HE

Original terminology and definition

Describes which transferability related term was used in the methods document (eg, external validity, generalisability, applicability, transferability) and how it is defined by the organisation

Harmonised terminology and definition

Due to the high heterogeneity in the terminology we decided to reassign the different definitions in the methods documents to the corresponding definition by Burford et al. (2013) to achieve a uniform terminology

Applicability according to Burford et al. [4]

“Whether the findings of a review can be applied in a particular context or population. This includes the consideration of the feasibility of implementing the intervention and variation in intervention fidelity, population characteristics, context, culture, values, and preferences”

External validity/ generalizability according to Burford et al. [4]

“The extent to which results provide a correct basis for generalizations to other circumstances”

Transferability according to Burford et al [4]

“Whether when implementing an intervention in a particular setting or population, the level of effectiveness of the intervention (ie, the effect size) will be similar to that observed in the systematic review”

Assessment approach concepts

Describes how the transferability assessment is operationalised. This includes the integration of assessment in the review preparation process, the target data addressed by the transferability assessment, the structuring of the assessment approach, the provision of guidance on completion, the integration of assessment in the quality of evidence rating and the use of results derived from sensitivity analyses

Integration of assessment in the preparation process

Transferability considerations can be addressed at different steps of the systematic review preparation process. It can be considered in study selection, in study assessment, or both

In study selection

Consideration of transferability in study selection, when defining and applying eligibility criteria

In study assessment

Assessment of transferability of included evidence

Target data

Describes for which data (effectiveness data, cost data, or both) transferability should be assessed

Structuring of the assessment approach

Describes, whether the transferability consideration follows a clear structure or not. We differentiate between structured and non-structured approaches

Non-structured

The transferability assessment does not follow a clear structure

Structured

The transferability assessment follows a structure and may comprise different steps, a checklist or questions that have to be followed or rated

Guidance on completion

Describes, whether the methods document provides instructions and/or item descriptions (eg, definitions, examples) which can be used by assessors as a guide, when assessing transferability

Combination of different assessments

Describes, whether the assessment of transferability is combined with other aspects for assessing quality of evidence or not. We differentiate between standalone and combined assessments

Standalone assessment

Transferability is assessed independently from other aspects for assessing quality of evidence

Combined assessment

The assessment of transferability is combined with other aspects for assessing quality of evidence (methodological study quality)

Assessment criteria

Describes which factors might affect transferability and are recommended to be considered, when assessing transferability. These criteria relate to the following domains: PICO (population, intervention, comparison, outcome), health system, clinical practice, costs, methodological aspects, other