Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38195498›Full record

ArticleBMC public health2024

School feeding in Ethiopia: a scoping review.

Samson Mideksa, Tsegaye Getachew, Firmaye Bogale, Ermias Woldie, Desalegn Ararso, Aregash Samuel, Meron Girma, Masresha Tessema, Mamuye Hadis

Abstract readScoping Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMC public health, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Samson MideksaKnowledge Translation Directorate, Ethiopian Public Health Institute, P O Box 1242, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. samkmwmtj@gmail.com.
Tsegaye GetachewKnowledge Translation Directorate, Ethiopian Public Health Institute, P O Box 1242, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Firmaye BogaleKnowledge Translation Directorate, Ethiopian Public Health Institute, P O Box 1242, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Ermias WoldieKnowledge Translation Directorate, Ethiopian Public Health Institute, P O Box 1242, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Desalegn ArarsoKnowledge Translation Directorate, Ethiopian Public Health Institute, P O Box 1242, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Aregash SamuelFood Science and Nutrition Research Directorate, Ethiopian Public Health Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Meron GirmaFood Science and Nutrition Research Directorate, Ethiopian Public Health Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Masresha TessemaFood Science and Nutrition Research Directorate, Ethiopian Public Health Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Mamuye HadisKnowledge Translation Directorate, Ethiopian Public Health Institute, P O Box 1242, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionUndernutrition is a major public health problem in developing countries, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. Undernourished children are smaller and have low weight. To solve this issue, school feeding (corn-soya blend, vegetable oil) started in 1994 in Ethiopia. Thus, this scoping review aims to map the evidence relating to school feeding programs and their potential role in managing children`s nutrition in Ethiopia.

methodsThis scoping review is informed by the methodological framework of Arksey & O'Malley for scoping reviews and recommendations on the framework by Levac and colleagues. The databases searched included the Education Resources Information Centre, International Initiative for Impact Evaluation, Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, and Google Scholar. To ensure its comprehensive search, grey literature sources were searched. The search was undertaken on 26 April 2023. Studies on school feeding, such as coverage, and studies that evaluate the educational and nutritional impacts of school feeding in Ethiopia, regardless of study designs, were included. Reports (publications) about school feeding without scientific methodology were excluded.

resultTwenty-seven studies were included in this review. It includes cross-sectional, prospective cohort, laboratory-based analysis, experimental, case study, and qualitative study designs. The school feeding program results were inconclusive, while some indicate a positive effect on body mass index, height, thinness, anemia, weight, dropout rate, class attendance, and enrollment. The others showed that the school feeding program did not affect stunting, thinness, weight, hemoglobin level, enrollment, attendance, dropout rate, and academic achievement. Factors affecting school feeding programs negatively include poor quality food and financial constraints. However, no literature on school feeding program coverage was found.

conclusionSchool feeding programs improved nutritional status, and academic performance, although some studies show any effect. Poor-quality food provisions and financial constraints affect school feeding programs. There are mixed findings, and further research is required to determine the effect of school feeding programs conclusively. To ensure the program's sustainability, it should be supported by a national policy, and budget allocation is needed. In addition, more evidence should be generated to show the coverage of school feeding programs in Ethiopia.

Indexed as

SchoolsThinnessChildCross-Sectional StudiesEthiopiaHumansProspective StudiesAcademic performanceChild undernutritionCoverageEthiopiaFunding issuesNutritional outcomesQualitySchool feeding program

Identifiers

PMID38195498
PMCPMC10777510

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.