This presentation outlines a recipe to improve health outcomes with nutritional interventions, using examples from the field of maternal and child health.
While we have many new techniques and technologies in the modern era to assess and measure more outcomes with less effort, the core recipe and the cooking time seem to remain the same.
Ingredients
Your favourite nutritional issue.
Scientific and clinical colleagues with relevant expertise in all aspects of your favourite nutritional issue.
People, government, non-government and industry organisations (end-users) who are impacted by your favourite nutritional issue.
Method
1. Determine the potential health impact linked with your favourite nutritional issue by consulting with your clinical and scientific colleagues as well as relevant end-users. Use these consultations to determine the important questions; the questions which will make a positive difference to people affected by your favourite nutritional issue, the health system and to society. If you cannot define an important question, give up now or find a new favourite nutritional issue.
2. Design the best studies to answer your defined important questions and have the discipline and tenacity to lead and undertake those studies to completion. Include your colleagues and end-users wherever possible.
3. Have the objectivity to read the data from your studies and the generosity to share and build the next phase with all the stakeholders.
4. Repeat as many times as needed.