Effectiveness of Food Handler Training and Education Interventions: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

2019 ◽  
Vol 82 (10) ◽  
pp. 1714-1728 ◽  
Author(s):  
IAN YOUNG ◽  
JUDY GREIG ◽  
BARBARA J. WILHELM ◽  
LISA A. WADDELL

ABSTRACT Improper food handling among those working in retail and food service settings is a frequent contributor to foodborne illness outbreaks. Food safety training and education interventions are important strategies to improve the behaviors and behavioral precursors (e.g., knowledge and attitudes) of food handlers in these settings. We conducted a comprehensive systematic review to identify, characterize, and synthesize global studies in this area to determine the overall effectiveness of these interventions. The review focused on experimental studies with an independent control group. Review methods included structured search strategy, relevance screening of identified abstracts, characterization of relevant articles, risk of bias assessment, data extraction, meta-analysis of intervention effectiveness for four outcome categories (attitudes, knowledge, behavior, and food premise inspection scores), and a quality of evidence assessment. We identified 18 relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and 29 nonrandomized trials. Among RCTs, 25 (64%) unique outcomes were rated as high risk of bias, primarily owing to concerns about outcome measurement methods, while 45 (98%) nonrandomized trial outcomes were rated as serious risk of bias, primarily because of concerns about confounding bias. High confidence was identified for the effect of training and education interventions to improve food handler knowledge outcomes in eight RCT studies (standardized mean difference = 0.92; 95% confidence interval: 0.03, 1.81; I2 = 86%). For all other outcomes, no significant effect was identified. In contrast, nonrandomized trials identified a statistically significant positive intervention effect for all outcome types, but confidence in these findings was very low due to possible confounding and other biases. Results indicate that food safety training and education interventions are effective to improve food handler knowledge, but more evidence is needed on strategies to improve behavior change.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Lum ◽  
Ian Young

Researchers conducted a systematic review of the effectiveness of training and education interventions to improve food safety in restaurants and food service settings. Infographic of Young, I., Greig, J., Wilhelm, B.J., & Waddell, L.A. (2019). Effectiveness of food handler training and education interventions: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Food Protection 82(10), 1714–1728.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Lum ◽  
Ian Young

Researchers conducted a systematic review of the effectiveness of training and education interventions to improve food safety in restaurants and food service settings. Infographic of Young, I., Greig, J., Wilhelm, B.J., & Waddell, L.A. (2019). Effectiveness of food handler training and education interventions: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Food Protection 82(10), 1714–1728.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 401-401
Author(s):  
Yue-Heng Yin ◽  
Liu Yat Justina

Abstract Obesity has been shown to intensify the decline of physical function and lead to frailty. Nutrition is an important method in managing obesity and frailty, while seldom reviews have ever explored the effects of nutritional education interventions. We conducted a systematic review (PROSPERO: CRD42019142403) to explore the effectiveness of nutritional education interventions in managing body composition and physio-psychosocial parameters related to frailty. Randomized controlled trials and quasi-experimental studies were searched in CINAHL, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, PubMed and Scopus from 2001 to 2019. Hand search for the reference lists of included papers was conducted as well. We assessed the quality of included studies by Cochrane risk of bias tool. Meta-analyses and narrative synthesis were used to analyse the data. Two studies with low risk of bias were screened from 180 articles, which involved 177 older people with an average age of 69.69±4.08 years old. The results showed that nutritional education was significantly effective in reducing body weight and fat mass than exercises, and it was beneficial to enhancing physical function and psychosocial well-being. But the effects of nutritional education in increasing muscle strength were not better than exercises. The combined effects of nutritional education and exercises were superior than either exercises or nutritional education interventions solely in preventing the loss of lean mass and bone marrow density, and in improving physical function. Due to limited numbers of relevant studies, the strong evidence of effectiveness of nutritional education interventions on reversing frailty is still lacking.


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. e046370
Author(s):  
Aamer Imdad ◽  
Julie Melissa Ehrlich ◽  
Joseph Catania ◽  
Emily Tanner-Smith ◽  
Abigail Smith ◽  
...  

IntroductionPrevalence rates of breastfeeding remain low even though the World Health Organization (WHO) and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend exclusive breast feeding for the first 6 months of life in combination with appropriate complementary feeding beyond six 6 months of age. There have been several studies that address the implication of drinking animal milk and/or infant formula on children’s health and development when breast feeding is not offered during the first year of life. Vast improvements have been made in infant formula design, which may increase its benefits compared with animal’s milk. The objective of this review is therefore to synthesise the most recent evidence on the effects of the consumption of animal milk compared with infant formula in non-breastfed or mixed breastfed infants aged 6–11 months.Methods and analysisWe will conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies that assessed the effect of animal milk compared with formula or mixed-fed (breastmilk and formula) on infants aged 6–11 months. The primary outcomes of interest include anaemia, gastrointestinal blood loss, weight for age, height for age and weight for height. We will include randomised and non-randomised studies with a control group. We will use the Cochrane risk of bias tools to assess the risk of bias. We will use meta-analysis to pool findings if the identified studies are conceptually homogenous and data are available from more than one study. We will assess the overall quality of evidence using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation approach.Ethics and disseminationThis is a systematic review, so no patients will be directly involved in the design or development of this study. The findings from this systematic review will be disseminated to relevant patient populations and caregivers and will guide the WHO’s recommendations on formula consumption versus animal milk in infants aged 6–11 months.Trial registration numberCRD42020210925.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. e0241156
Author(s):  
Fazel Isapanah Amlashi ◽  
Zahra Norouzi ◽  
Ahmad Sohrabi ◽  
Hesamaddin Shirzad-Aski ◽  
Alireza Norouzi ◽  
...  

Background and objectives Based on some previous observational studies, there is a theory that suggests a potential relationship between Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) colonization and celiac disease (CeD); however, the type of this relationship is still controversial. Therefore, we aimed to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to explore all related primary studies to find any possible association between CeD and human H. pylori colonization. Data sources Studies were systematically searched and collected from four databases and different types of gray literature to cover all available evidence. After screening, the quality and risk of bias assessment of the selected articles were evaluated. Synthesis methods Meta-analysis calculated pooled odds ratio (OR) on the extracted data. Furthermore, heterogeneity, sensitivity, subgroups, and publication bias analyses were assessed. Results Twenty-six studies were included in this systematic review, with a total of 6001 cases and 135512 control people. The results of meta-analysis on 26 studies showed a significant and negative association between H. pylori colonization and CeD (pooled OR = 0.56; 95% CI = 0.45–0.70; P < 0.001), with no publication bias (P = 0.825). The L’Abbé plots also showed a trend of having more H. pylori colonization in the control group. Among subgroups, ORs were notably different only when the data were stratified by continents or risk of bias; however, subgroup analysis could not determine the source of heterogeneity. Conclusions According to the meta-analysis, this negative association might imply a mild protective role of H. pylori against celiac disease. Although this negative association is not strong, it is statistically significant and should be further considered. Further investigations in both molecular and clinic fields with proper methodology and more detailed information are needed to discover more evidence and underlying mechanisms to clear the interactive aspects of H. pylori colonization in CeD patients. Systematic review registration number (PROSPERO) CRD42020167730 https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=167730.


2012 ◽  
Vol 75 (4) ◽  
pp. 793-804 ◽  
Author(s):  
JAN MEI SOON ◽  
RICHARD BAINES ◽  
PHILLIP SEAMAN

Research has shown that traditional food safety training programs and strategies to promote hand hygiene increases knowledge of the subject. However, very few studies have been conducted to evaluate the impact of food safety training on food handlers' attitudes about good hand hygiene practices. The objective of this meta-analytical study was to assess the extent to which food safety training or intervention strategies increased knowledge of and attitudes about hand hygiene. A systematic review of food safety training articles was conducted. Additional studies were identified from abstracts from food safety conferences and food science education conferences. Search terms included combinations of “food safety,” “food hygiene,” “training,” “education,” “hand washing,” “hand hygiene,” “knowledge,” “attitudes,” “practices,” “behavior,” and “food handlers.” Only before- and after-training approaches and cohort studies with training (intervention group) and without training (control group) in hand hygiene knowledge and including attitudes in food handlers were evaluated. All pooled analyses were based on a random effects model. Meta-analysis values for nine food safety training and intervention studies on hand hygiene knowledge among food handlers were significantly higher than those of the control (without training), with an effect size (Hedges' g) of 1.284 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.830 to 1.738). Meta-analysis of five food safety training and intervention studies in which hand hygiene attitudes and self-reported practices were monitored produced a summary effect size of 0.683 (95% CI = 0.523 to 0.843). Food safety training increased knowledge and improved attitudes about hand hygiene practices. Refresher training and long-term reinforcement of good food handling behaviors may also be beneficial for sustaining good hand washing practices.


2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (Sup2) ◽  
pp. S19-S25 ◽  
Author(s):  
André Oliveira Paggiaro ◽  
Andriws Garcia Menezes ◽  
Alexandra Donizetti Ferrassi ◽  
Viviane Fernandes De Carvalho ◽  
Rolf Gemperli

Objective: The amniotic membrane has biological properties that are beneficial to the wound healing process of diabetic foot ulcers (DFU). Our aim is to analyse the scientific evidence found in literature on the use of the amniotic membrane to stimulate DFU healing. Method: A systematic review of amniotic membrane's influence was undertaken, using the search terms ‘placenta’ ‘diabetic foot’ ‘amnion’ and biological dressing’, assessing the outcomes ‘wound healing’ and ‘wound healing time’, in DFU. Following the inclusion and exclusion criteria, randomised controlled trials (RCT) were identified, and the risk of bias was analysed according to the Cochrane risk of bias tool. We conducted a meta-analysis of the two outcomes to evaluate the level of evidence. Results: We identified six clinical trials, with a total of 331 patients. The most common risks of bias in the studies were selection, attrition, and detection biases. From the meta-analysis, the difference of the intervention group (amnion) in relation to the control group was statistically significant. We found that wound healing in the group treated with amniotic membrane occurs 2.32 times more often and is 32 days faster in comparison with the group that used conventional dressings. Conclusion: There is statistical evidence to support the effectiveness of amniotic membrane in comparison with other conventional dressings. In addition, there is a clear tendency for the use of amniotic membrane treatment to result in a larger number of DFUs healing at a quicker rate.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma Norris ◽  
Tommy van Steen ◽  
Artur Direito ◽  
Emmanuel Stamatakis

Objective: This review provides the first meta-analysis of the effects of physically active lessons on lesson-time and overall physical activity (PA), as well as health, cognition and educational outcomes. Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Six meta-analyses pooled effects on lesson-time PA, overall PA, in-class educational and overall educational outcomes, cognition and health outcomes. Meta-analyses were conducted using the metafor package in R. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane tool for risk of bias. Data sources: PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, ERIC and Web of Science, grey literature and reference lists were searched in December 2017 and April 2019. Studies eligibility criteria: Physically active lessons compared to a control group in a randomised or non-randomised design, within single component interventions in general school populations. Results: 42 studies (39 in preschool or elementary school settings, 27 randomised controlled trials) were eligible for inclusion in the systematic review and 37 of them were included across the six meta-analyses (n=12,663). Physically active lessons were found to produce large, significant increases in lesson-time PA (d=2.33; 95%CI 1.42, 3.25: k=16) and small, significant effects on overall PA (d= 0.32, 95%CI 0.18, 0.46: k=8). A large, significant effect was shown on lesson-time educational outcomes (d=0.81; 95%CI 0.47, 1.14: k=7) and a small, significant effect on overall educational outcomes (d=0.36, 95%CI [0.09, 0.63], k=25). No effects were seen on cognitive (k=3) or health outcomes (k=3). 25/42 studies had high risk of bias in at least 2 domains. Conclusion: In elementary and preschool settings, when physically active lessons were added into the curriculum they had a positive impact on both physical activity and educational outcomes. These findings support policy initiatives encouraging the incorporation of physically active lessons into teaching in elementary and preschool settings.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weili Wang ◽  
Kuang-Huei Chen ◽  
Ying-Chieh Pan ◽  
Szu-Nian Yang ◽  
Yuan-Yu Chan

Abstract Objectives To examine the effectiveness and safety of yoga for women with sleep problems by performing a systematic review and meta-analysis.Methods Medline/PubMed, Clincalkey, ScienceDirect, Embase, PsycINFO, and the Cochrane Library were searched throughout the month of June 2019. Randomized controlled trials comparing yoga groups with control groups in women with sleep problems were included. Two reviewers independently evaluated risk of bias by using the risk of bias tool suggested by the Cochrane Collaboration for programming and conducting systematic reviews and meta-analyses. The main outcome measure was sleep quality or the severity of insomnia, which was measured using subjective instruments, such as the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Insomnia severity index (ISI), or objective instruments, such as polysomnography, actigraphy, and safety of the intervention. For each outcome, standardized mean difference (SMD) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were determined. Results Nineteen studies including 1832 participants were included in this systematic review. Meta-analyses revealed positive effects of yoga using PSQI or ISI scores in 16 randomized control trials (RCTs) compared with the control group in improving sleep quality in women, PSQI (SMD = −0.54; 95% CI = −0.89 to −0.19 ; P = 0.003). However, three RCTs revealed no effects of yoga compared with the control group in reducing the severity of insomnia in women using ISI (SMD = −0.13; 95% CI = −0.74 to 0.48; P = 0.69). Seven RCTs revealed no evidence for effects of yoga compared with the control group in improving sleep quality for women with breast cancer using PSQI (SMD = −0.15 ; 95% CI = −0.31 to 0.01; P = 0.5). Four RCTs revealed no evidence for the effects of yoga compared with the control group in improving the sleep quality for peri-or postmenopausal women using PSQI (SMD = −0.31; 95% CI = −0.95 to 0.33; P = 0.34).Yoga was not associated with serious adverse events. Discussion This systematic review and meta-analysis found that yoga intervention in some groups of women was beneficial in managing sleep problems. Despite certain disadvantages in methodology in the included studies, yoga may be recommended as a complementary therapy to women.


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