Informing food safety trainings in low- and middle-income countries: a novel evaluation of training materials and design.

چکیده اصلی

BACKGROUND: Over the past two decades, food safety training interventions in LMICs have increased significantly, yet improvements in food hygiene and safety outcomes remain inconsistent. This limited effectiveness may reflect a lack of contextual adaptation and a failure to align training materials with the socio-economic constraints of participants. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate LMIC food safety training interventions and their educational materials on a novel framework, and to propose a checklist for the efficacy of future programs. METHODS: Relevant literature on training interventions was systematically identified, and only studies with accessible training materials were included. Interventions were evaluated using a novel qualitative framework, encompassing image-text ratios, readability grade, training design, incentives, and outcome parameters. Novel concepts, 'Engagement features' and 'Contextual-fit factors' were also developed, and the correlations between them were tested. RESULTS: A total of 28 studies met the inclusion criteria with available training materials. Infographics from 13 studies demonstrated a satisfactory balance of images and text. The readability assessment revealed an average result comparable to the US grade 6 level (5.90 ± 1.74), potentially hindering comprehension for low-literacy populations. Incentives were commonly used (n = 18), most frequently as non-cash economic incentives. Change in knowledge was the most measured outcome, and studies reporting null or negative results lacked several engagement and contextual-fit elements. CONCLUSIONS: This study uses innovative methods to identify and shed light on the existing gaps in food safety trainings. Based on these findings, it proposes a 35-point checklist to support the development of more engaging, comprehensible, and contextually appropriate programs.

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