Table 5 Inclusion and exclusion criteria for screening of relevant studies

(1) Studies examining vulnerable populations as populations of interest.

(2) Studies examining various physical distancing measures from the public policy and/or legal perspectives.

(3) Peer-reviewed studies (empirical, conceptual and review studies), policy briefs, reports, editorials, commentaries, perspectives and letters.

(4) Studies employing jurisdictions (prefecture/district/country/state/province, single country, multi-countries) as a unit of analysis.

(5) Studies employing quantitative, qualitative or mixed-methods research designs.

(6) Studies published as full-text articles in the English language between November 2019 and June 2022.

Exclusion criteria

(1) Studies examining physical distancing measures but that do not mention their impacts on vulnerable populations.

(2) Clinical studies on the COVID-19 pandemic without public policy and/or law dimensions.

(3) Studies published before November 2019.

(4) Studies for which full-text articles are not accessible or that are not published in the English language.