Research potential of food and nutrition in the Family Health Strategy: A structured review

OBJECTIVE: Determine the profile of research groups and publications with food and nutrition-related actions promoted by the Family Health Strategy in Brazil since 1994. METHODS: Two procedures were used: structured review and research group search. The former searched the databases Web of Science, Medline, Lilacs, SciELO and Embase, and followed the principles that guide systematic reviews in the Cochrane Collaboration. The references of the selected articles were also consulted. The research groups were searched in the Research Group Directory of the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development. RESULTS: A total of 54 articles published between 2002 and 2012 in 20 different journals were identified. Ten of these were retrieved from the references section of other articles. Focusing mostly on children from the Southeast region, these studies were coordinated by dieticians, nurses, and physicians. Diabetes Mellitus, high blood pressure, and breastfeeding were the most common topics (n=23). The quantitative methodology was employed by 42 articles, most about diagnoses. Only five research groups studied the Family Health Strategy, despite the growing number of studies in the area over the years. CONCLUSION: Despite the growing scientific production, the findings of this structured review indicate that few studies focused on food and nutrition in the Family Health Strategy, probably because of the existence of few research groups in the country. More comprehensive and consistent studies on the topic are needed.

研究目标：梳理1994年以来巴西家庭健康战略（Family Health Strategy）所推广的食品与营养相关行动的研究团队及相关发表成果概况。
研究方法：采用结构化综述与研究团队检索两种研究方式。前者检索了Web of Science、Medline、Lilacs、SciELO及Embase数据库，并遵循考克兰协作网（Cochrane Collaboration）系统综述的规范原则；同时对筛选出的文献的参考文献列表进行回溯检索。研究团队的检索依托国家科学技术发展委员会（National Council for Scientific and Technological Development）的研究团队名录开展。
研究结果：共检索到2002年至2012年间发表于20种不同期刊的54篇相关文献，其中10篇通过回溯其他文献的参考文献列表获得。这些研究多聚焦巴西东南部地区的儿童群体，研究团队主要由营养师、护士与医师组成。研究主题以糖尿病（Diabetes Mellitus）、高血压及母乳喂养最为常见（n=23）；其中42篇采用定量研究方法，且多数围绕诊断展开。尽管近年来该领域的研究数量逐年增长，但仅有5个研究团队针对家庭健康战略开展了相关研究。
研究结论：尽管该领域的科研产出逐年增加，但本次结构化综述的结果显示，针对家庭健康战略下食品与营养相关主题的研究仍较为匮乏，这可能与巴西国内相关研究团队数量较少有关。未来仍需开展更为全面、规范的该主题相关研究。