Meta-analysis: a rigorous statistical procedure that synthesizes results from multiple primary research studies on a common clinical problem or issue (Anderson, 2003).
A systematic review is the overview of several randomized trials of the same intervention or treatment for the same situation or condition; this overview systematically and critically reviews and combines all the studies, providing a better answer than the results from just one study (Sackett et al., 2000).
Literature reviews aim to answer focused questions to: inform professionals and patients of the best available evidence when making healthcare decisions; influence policy; and identify future research priorities (Smith & Nobel, 2015).
More on literature reviews from a Evidence Based Nursing: Writing the Lit Review Libguide from University of West Florida.
"Systematic reviews differ from traditional narrative reviews in several ways. Narrative reviews tend to be mainly descriptive, do not involve a systematic search of the literature, and thereby often focus on a subset of studies in an area chosen based on availability or author selection. Thus narrative reviews while informative, can often include an element of selection bias" (Uman, Lindsay S., 2011, para. 2).
More on comparing reviews from a Evidence Based Nursing: What are the types of reviews? Libguide from University of West Florida.