Summary table of study and intervention characteristics associated with effectiveness of interventions aimed at reducing patient delay
| Study details | Total (N) | Significant reduction in patient delay | No significant reduction in patient delay |
| Study design | |||
| RCTs/Cluster RCT | 7 | 2 | 5 |
| Controlled before and after | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Uncontrolled before and after/ITS | 26 | 15 | 11 |
| Post-test only | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Case–control study | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Theoretical underpinning | |||
| Yes | 8 | 2 | 6 |
| No | 31 | 18 | 13 |
| Intervention mode of delivery | |||
| Population-level, mass media | 30 | 17 | 13 |
| Individual-level, face-to-face | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| Individual-level, direct mailing | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Both, mass media + direct mailing | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Intervention intensity | |||
| Campaigns ≤12 months | 15 | 8 | 7 |
| Campaigns >12 months | 8 | 4 | 4 |
| Population | |||
| Confirmed diagnosis | 15 | 8 | 7 |
| Suspected diagnosis | 24 | 12 | 12 |
| Year of publication | |||
| In/before 2000 | 18 | 10 | 8 |
| After 2000 | 21 | 10 | 11 |
| Measurement of delay | |||
| Symptom onset to hospital arrival | 24 | 12 | 12 |
| Symptom onset to first seeking help | 5 | 1 | 4 |
| Both | 5 | 4 | 1 |
| Not reported | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| Clinical context | |||
| ACS | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| MI | 16 | 8 | 8 |
| Stroke | 15 | 9 | 6 |
| Breast cancer | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Chest pain | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Overall study quality based on total score | |||
| Randomised studies (total quality score range 6–18; good–poor quality) | |||
| Scored 6–9 | 5 | 2 | 3 |
| Scored 10–14 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Scored 15–18 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Non-randomised studies (total quality score range 4–12; good–poor quality) | |||
| Scored 4–5 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Scored 6–8 | 20 | 13 | 7 |
| Scored 9–12 | 11 | 5 | 6 |
ACS, acute coronary syndrome; ITS, interrupted time series; MI, myocardial infarction; RCTs, randomised controlled trials.