Social marketing-based interventions to promote healthy nutrition behaviors: a systematic review protocol

BACKGROUND: Diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are rapidly increasing worldwide and constitute one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity. Improving population diets can play an important role in preventing and managing the diseases. Effective and efficient interventions are needed to promote healthy eating behaviors among people. The objective of this review will be to evaluate the effectiveness of social marketing-based interventions to promote healthy nutrition behaviors. METHOD: The following electronic databases will be searched from January 1990 onwards: PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, and CENTRAL. We will include randomized and non-randomized trials, quasi-experimental studies, observational studies (e.g., cohort, cross-sectional, and before and after studies) evaluating the social marketing-based intervention. The primary outcomes will be nutritional behaviors. Secondary outcomes will include the quality of life, nutritional status, and weight status. Two reviewers will independently screen all citations, full-text articles, and abstract data. The study methodological quality (or bias) will be appraised using an appropriate tool. If feasible, we will conduct random-effects meta-analysis. Additional analyses will be conducted to explore the potential sources of heterogeneity (e.g., age, sex, and socio-economic condition). DISCUSSION: This study will summarize the evidence regarding the interventions’ components, implementation methods, and effectiveness of interventions based on the social marketing framework to promote healthy nutrition behaviors. This review can provide policymakers with the information needed to make decisions and plan to promote healthy eating behaviors and understand the factors influencing the implementation of these programs. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: CRD42020163972 SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13643-021-01625-5.