Objective  To perform a qualitative systematic review of the framework of user’s manuals for assessment scales in medical fields. 

Methods  The following databases, PubMed, Embase, The Cochrane Library, CNKI, WanFang and VIP, were searched from the establishment of the database to January 2021. The subject scope was limited to the field of biomedical health. The user’s manuals and also the literature that only mentioned the name of user’s manuals were included, so as to we could perform a supplemental search for the corresponding references and the official websites of the scale. Two researchers conducted the literature screening and data extraction independently. Then the sub-ject synthesis method was used to construct a framework for user’s manuals. 

Results  A total of 31 studies were included, involving 31 user’s manuals. The framework found in user’s manuals varied among different assessment scales. It was composed of 8 parts, which were prefaces, backgrounds, summaries, methods, item introductions, examples, attachments and references. Item introductions, accounting for 68%, form the most important part of the content. 

Conclusion  There is not yet any agreed format for the framework of user’s manuals, but each manual mainly focuses on the introduction of items, interpretation of results and conclusions, supplemented by the background of tool research and development, so the scales developer can formulate frameworks according to the characteristics of the target population, develop user's manuals with different levels of detail and different expression styles, in order to improve the efficiency of manual use. 

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