Table 4 List of exclusion criteria applied to select relevant papers

Content outside of scope (N = 18)

Exclusive focus on policy outcomes [64,65,66,67,68,69,70,71,72,73,74,75] Exclusive focus on vertical programs dealing with HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis [76,77,78,79,80,81]

Review of all health financing policy options without specific content on ownership (N = 6)

[82,83,84,85,86,87]

Analysis of public’s perceptions about health financing policies (N = 5)

[88,89,90,91,92]

Review of options for fiscally sustainable policies (N = 3)

[93,94,95]

Lack of substantial content on ownership (N = 6)

[96,97,98,99,100,101]

Full manuscript inaccessible (N = 1)

[102]

Short comments, not empirical papers (N = 2)

[103, 104]