Nutrition Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (NUTR-0392)

Summer 2024 · NUTR 0392 · Tufts University · 3 credits · Undergraduate

Systematic reviews are the backbone of evidence synthesis methods and the core of knowledge translation and evidence-informed decision making. Meta-analysis is a set of techniques for analyzing and summarizing the findings of multiple quantitative empirical studies. In recent decades, major U.S. and international agencies have adopted such evidence-informed decision-making processes to produce nutrition and public health guidelines and policies. It is important, therefore, that nutrition scientists learn how various review approaches can be used to advance their work in nutrition epidemiology, nutrition intervention, dietetic practice, and policy advocacy. This course is designed to teach students about the various systematic literature review approaches available for the synthesis of nutrition research and will include a deep examination of the principles and methodologies of full systematic reviews, scoping reviews, evidence mapping, and meta-epidemiological study designs. Students will also learn how to conduct a meta-analysis using Stata (metan or meta [Stata 16 or newer]) or R (metafor) after a systematic literature review and how to utilize published systematic review and meta-analysis from the perspective of a public health practitioner. By combining classroom sessions with substantial individual work, students in this course will learn how to perform each step in a systematic review and meta-analysis and will apply that knowledge to a topic of their choosing by writing a review protocol with a student-designed data extraction form prototype. Students will get feedback at each stage in the review planning process and will have the opportunity to serve as peer-reviewers for their classmates’ work. The final deliverable for the course will be a protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis. Prerequisites: NUTR 0204: Principles of Epidemiology & NUTR 206/NUTR 207: Biostatistics I or equivalent, or by instructor permission.

Course codes: NUTR-0392, NUTR 0392, NUTR0392, NUTR-392, NUTR 392, NUTR392

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