Characteristics of included studies
| Author, date of publication, author details, financial interests | Title | Research focus | Recruitment | Sample size | Data collection method |
| Brown 2020 F nurse with lived experience of mesh. No financial interests.27 | The experiences of seven women living with pelvic surgical mesh complications | Lived experience | Women attending physiotherapy | 7 | Semistructured interview |
| Cumberlege (chair) 2020; F politician and life peer; panel M physician, M communication consultant, F secretary. No financial interests.16 | First do no harm: the report of the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review | Adverse experiences, information useful for making recommendations | Mesh patient groups, affected individuals including carers | Unclear: >100 | Independent inquiry: patient engagement events, feedback on drafts |
| Annex J: Personal testimonies | Unclear: >10 | Written | |||
| Annex K: Oral hearing transcripts | 5 women with mesh, 1 carer, 12 mesh group reps; 10 clinicians | Oral accounts in hearings; transcribed, plus one letter | |||
| Dibb et al, 2023, all 3 F health researchers. No financial interests.30 | When things go wrong: experiences of vaginal mesh complications | Complications of mesh and their impact | Mesh support group on social media | 18 | Semistructured interview |
| Dunn et al, 2014, all 7 F doctors or nurses mainly in urogynaecology. No financial interests.33 | Changed women: the long-term impact of vaginal mesh complications | Women’s experience of mesh complications after specialist care | Urogynaecology clinic for mesh complications | 84 | Structured telephone interview |
| Huntington et al, 2019, 2 F health researchers, 1 F mesh group advocate. No declaration of interest.35 | The loss of a life well lived: a qualitative study exploring the impact of surgical mesh implants on the lives of a group of New Zealand women | Impact of mesh complications | Mesh support group through health advocate | 23 | Emailed account |
| Izett-Kay et al, 2020, 5 M surgeons, 1 F consultant, 1 F medical researcher. 3 disclosed financial interests.31 | ‘What research was carried out on this vaginal mesh?’ Health-related concerns in women following mesh-augmented prolapse surgery: a thematic analysis | Health problems after mesh insertion | Patients of 5 surgeons | 752 | Free text responses on written/online questionnaire |
| McKinlay and Oxlad 2022, 2 F health researchers. No financial interests36 | ‘I have no life and neither do the ones watching me suffer’: women’s experiences of transvaginal mesh implant surgery | Impact of mesh, taking biopsychosocial perspective | Written submissions from national inquiry into mesh | 153 | Free text from submissions |
| Toye et al, 2023, 3 health researchers, 1 M surgeon. No financial interests.32 | The experience of women reporting damage from vaginal mesh: a reflexive thematic analysis | Explore and understand the experience of living with complications of mesh | Women being treated for urogynaecological conditions through healthcare, advocacy groups, advertisement, snowball sampling | 15 | Semistructured interviews, telephone or video call |
| Uberoi et al, 2021,1 M and 2 F surgeons, 1 M urologist, 2 F researchers. No financial interests.34 | Listening to women: a qualitative analysis of experiences after complications from mesh mid-urethral sling surgery | Understand women’s experiences after mesh revision | Patients of 3 surgeons | 19 | Semistructured interviews and focus groups |
F female, M male.