Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK.
Human Nutrition & Exercise Research Centre, Population Health Sciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
BMJ Open. 2024 Mar 14;14(3):e081400. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-081400.
The school food system varies widely between schools and across the UK. There is a need to understand evidence gaps in school food research to allow the development, implementation and evaluation of policies and interventions to support children's healthy eating at school. This study aimed to conduct a priority setting exercise to co-produce research priorities in relation to the UK school food system.
The James Lind Alliance process informed this priority setting exercise; all key steps engaged a wide range of UK school food stakeholders (including teachers, parents, principals, school governors, policymakers, caterers). An initial online stakeholder survey identified perceived research priorities. In a second survey, stakeholders were asked to rank these priorities. Lastly, an online priority setting workshop with stakeholders elicited the most important research priorities.
In 2021, school food stakeholders (n=1280) completed the first survey, from which 136 research priorities were identified. In the second survey, participants (n=107) ranked these research priorities regarding their importance. Lastly, 30 workshop participants discussed and reached consensus on the research priorities. After final refinement by the research team, 18 priorities resulted, with the top 10 being related to the provision of free school meals (effectiveness of cost-effectiveness of different levels of eligibility, including universal provision), implementation of policy (including improving uptake) and food standards, issues around procurement, leadership, inequalities, social norms, the eating environment, food culture throughout the school setting and healthy eating.
The top 10 research priorities were elicited through a rigorous approach, including a wide range of stakeholders across the UK. These should be considered by policymakers, researchers and others to inform research, evidence-based policy development and, ultimately, improve the UK school food system.
英国各学校的校园食品系统差异较大。为了制定、实施和评估支持儿童在校健康饮食的政策和干预措施，我们需要了解校园食品研究中的证据空白。本研究旨在开展一项优先事项制定工作，共同制定与英国校园食品系统相关的研究优先事项。
本优先事项制定工作采用詹姆斯·林德联盟（James Lind Alliance）流程；所有关键步骤都让英国校园食品的各个利益攸关方（包括教师、家长、校长、学校理事、政策制定者、餐饮服务商）广泛参与。初步的在线利益攸关方调查确定了他们认为的研究优先事项。在第二次调查中，要求利益攸关方对这些优先事项进行排名。最后，通过在线利益攸关方研讨会，了解并确定最重要的研究优先事项。
2021 年，校园食品利益攸关方（n=1280）完成了第一次调查，从中确定了 136 项研究优先事项。在第二次调查中，参与者（n=107）对这些研究优先事项的重要性进行了排名。最后，30 名研讨会参与者对研究优先事项进行了讨论并达成了共识。经过研究团队的最终修订，确定了 18 项优先事项，前 10 项与提供免费校餐（不同资格水平的成本效益的有效性，包括普及性）、政策实施（包括提高参与度）和食品标准、采购问题、领导力、不平等问题、社会规范、饮食环境、校园食品文化以及健康饮食有关。
通过一项严谨的方法，包括英国范围内的广泛利益攸关方，得出了前 10 项研究优先事项。这些优先事项应由政策制定者、研究人员和其他人员考虑，以为研究、循证政策制定提供信息，并最终改善英国校园食品系统。
