Inclusion and exclusion criteria with rationale or justification
| Inclusion | Rationale/justification |
| Qualitative, quantitative and mixed-methods designs | To cover all relevant information qualitatively and quantitatively. This will also include different designs applied in mixed methods. |
| Incarcerated aged 18+ (males and females) | We are interested in adult populations aged 18+ years, which is the uncontested legal age in most African countries. |
| Coping strategies and challenges | We chose to define coping strategies as follows: ‘coping’ refers to contextual, personal, social and psychological strategies people use to deal with stressing events or situations which bring psychological discomfort.31 Challenges refer to any contextual, personal, social and psychological factors that contribute to dysfunctional conditions. |
| COVID-19 pandemic | The current pandemic which contributes to systematic problems in prisons. |
| International and local articles | We are interested in evidence across all countries with the hope to identify and adapt strategies suitable for LMICs. |
| English published reviews | The reviewers have experience only in reading and writing using the English language. |
| Year 2019 to present | The spread of COVID-19 began in late 2019. |
| Exclusion | Rationale/justification |
| Offenders that have been discharged | We are interested in currently incarcerated population. |
| Articles about service providers’ experiences | We are interested in articles about how or what did service providers do to help offenders cope during COVID-19 and overcome challenges. |
| Secondary analysis | The study solely focuses on primary studies. |
| Systematic reviews and reviews | Focus is on reviews rather than primary data. |
LMIC, low and middle-income country.