Table 1 Inclusion and exclusion criteria

National knowledge translation (KT) strategies for policy in health

National health strategies with no or very limited information on KT

National strategies on knowledge translation or knowledge transfer in general, even if it is not specific to health or policy

National research strategies that only mention KT, and not in a policy context

National health strategies or national research strategies if they contain substantial elements on KT to health policy (that is, specific objectives or actions, not only a mention of KT as an objective itself)

All documents with a format other than a national strategy, for example:

• Supra-national guidance documents about the KT process

• Documents on KT-related activities, for example, health technology assessment (HTA), other than national strategies

• Strategies of individual institutions if they do not contain substantial elements on how to inform national health policy

• Documents (mostly short in size) that do not resemble strategies, for example, newsletters or HR guidance documents

• Reviews, evaluations and models serving as background documents for strategy development work

Strategies of individual institutions if they contain substantial elements on how to inform national health policy (that is, the institution has a national-level mandate and/or importance)