Utilisation of tools to facilitate cross-border communication during international food safety events, 1995–2019: a realist synthesis protocol

Abstract

IntroductionEfficient communication and coordination between countries is needed for prevention, detection and response to international food safety events. While communication tools exist, current evidence suggests that they are only effective within certain contexts and only cover certain geographic areas. There is a need to unpack and explore the mechanisms of how and in what context such communication tools and their components are effective at facilitating international communication and coordination to keep food safe and mitigate the burden of foodborne disease around the globe.Methods and analysisA realist synthesis will be undertaken to understand how and why certain processes and structures of communication tools, used during international food safety events, influence their utility and effectiveness according to different contextual factors. The focus of this review is explanatory and aims to develop and refine theory regarding how contextual factors trigger specific processes and mechanisms to produce outcomes. Using the realist context–mechanism–outcome configuration of theory development, a range of sources have been used to develop the initial programme theory, including the author’s experience, a scoping review of published papers and grey literature and input from an expert reference committee. To support, expand or refute the initial theory, data will be synthesised from published literature and input from the expert reference committee.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval is not required for this review as it does not involve primary research. However, it will be conducted according to the appropriate ethical standards of accuracy, utility, usefulness, accountability, feasibility and propriety. The RAMESES publication standards will be followed to report the findings of this review. On completion, the final manuscript will be shared with members of the FAO/WHO International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN) and published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Assessment of awareness on consumption of irradiated foods among Saudi population using a validated psychometric scale

“…Key strategies include focusing communications on the safety and benefits of irradiation while directly addressing common misconceptions ( 8 , 27 , 28 ). Utilizing credible sources like health authorities and academics is crucial, as these are more trusted than industry or government sources ( 8 , 29 , 30 ). Increasing consumer familiarity through awareness campaigns and clear labeling is essential to overcome barriers of unfamiliarity.…”

The utilisation of tools to facilitate cross-border communication during international food safety events, 1995–2020: a realist synthesis

“…1 ). The grand level development theories that provide an overarching framework for this review include the third wave of modernisation theory developed in the 1990s [ 27 , 28 ] and globalisation theory as articulated by Robinson [ 29 ] and are further described in our published review protocol [ 30 ]. With these overarching theories in mind, and using the realist approach, a refined programme theory to explain a context-mechanism-outcome (C-M-O) configuration related to the use of communication tools to facilitate information exchange during international food safety events has been developed.…”

“…With these overarching theories in mind, and using the realist approach, a refined programme theory to explain a context-mechanism-outcome (C-M-O) configuration related to the use of communication tools to facilitate information exchange during international food safety events has been developed. In line with the RAMESES reporting standards, complete information on: 1) the rationale for using realist synthesis; 2) the initial scoping literature search; 3) the searching processes; 4) the selection and appraisal of documents; 5) the data extraction; and 6) the analysis and synthesis processes, are all described in detail in the published review protocol [ 30 ] and thus not repeated here. Details on the specific database searches are included in supplementary file 1 .…”

“…Firstly, the duration was initially planned as a 12-month period and later revised to a 24-month period due to competing priorities of the first author, CJS. Secondly, selection and appraisal of documents were conducted such that CJS screened the title and abstract of the searched articles using the inclusion and exclusion criteria (as defined in the review protocol [ 30 ]). When unsure of acceptability, a second investigator (second author, RFGA) was consulted.…”