Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41840579›Full record

ArticleBMC public health2026

Drivers of food cost in outer regional, remote, and very remote Australia: a systematic scoping review.

Emma van Burgel, Chloe Martin, Jane Dancey, Beau Cubillo, Francis Nona, Eddie Miles, Megan Ferguson, Georgia Day, Julie Brimblecombe

Abstract readScoping Review
In one paragraph

Article in BMC public health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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.

Emma van BurgelDepartment of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food, Monash University, Level 1 264 Ferntree Gully Rd Notting Hill, Melbourne, VIC, 3168, Australia. emma.vanburgel@monash.edu.
Chloe MartinDepartment of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food, Monash University, Level 1 264 Ferntree Gully Rd Notting Hill, Melbourne, VIC, 3168, Australia.
Jane DanceyDepartment of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food, Monash University, Level 1 264 Ferntree Gully Rd Notting Hill, Melbourne, VIC, 3168, Australia.
Beau CubilloDepartment of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food, Monash University, Level 1 264 Ferntree Gully Rd Notting Hill, Melbourne, VIC, 3168, Australia.
Francis NonaSchool of Medicine, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
Eddie MilesCommunity First Development, Mawson, ACT, Australia.
Megan FergusonDepartment of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food, Monash University, Level 1 264 Ferntree Gully Rd Notting Hill, Melbourne, VIC, 3168, Australia.
Georgia DayDepartment of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food, Monash University, Level 1 264 Ferntree Gully Rd Notting Hill, Melbourne, VIC, 3168, Australia.
Julie BrimblecombeDepartment of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food, Monash University, Level 1 264 Ferntree Gully Rd Notting Hill, Melbourne, VIC, 3168, Australia.

Funding

National Health and Medical Research Council GNT2017170National Health and Medical Research Council GNT2034809
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundA key determinant of diet quality in outer regional to very remote areas is the higher cost of food. This systematic scoping review aims to identify evidence gaps on drivers of the cost of food, to guide future research and policy development to improve food security across outer regional to very remote areas of Australia.

methodsThe Joanna Briggs Institute three step literature search was utilised and the review was conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. Five electronic databases (Ovid MEDLINE, CINAHL, Informit, Embase, Scopus) were systematically searched in September 2024. Peer-reviewed literature set in outer regional to very remote regions of Australia were included if they were on the topic of food and food price and the drivers influencing these. Title and abstract screening were performed by two authors, as well as double screening of full texts by two authors. Data were extracted from included articles regarding remoteness category, aims, sampling, methodology, drivers influencing food price, outcomes and implications on policy, as well as author commentary on the drivers of food price. The CREATE tool for research involving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities was completed by two authors, with guidance from two First Nations authors and the senior author.

resultsTwenty articles published between 1987 to 2022 met the inclusion criteria. Most studies reported on remoteness itself as the determinant of high food price. Other drivers of food price included freight, high operating costs of smaller stores and weather events.

conclusionThose living in outer regional to very remote Australia pay more for food, however there is a lack of empirical detailed evidence on the drivers of higher food price. To effectively address the higher cost of food in outer regional, rural, and remote Australia and promote food security in these areas, empirical evidence on system determinants could complement existing expert evidence for targeted policy and government support.

Indexed as

FoodFood SupplyRural PopulationAustraliaEvidence GapsHumansAustraliaEnvironmental DeterminantsFood AccessFood CostFood PriceRegionalRemote

Identifiers

PMID41840579
PMCPMC13107613

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

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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.