TABLE 5. Illustration of Action-Oriented Research Characteristics of “Topic(s)” and “Processes/Influences” in Public Health Journals
Key TopicsTopic(s) of StudyProcesses/Influences
Policy and legislationChanges in WIC policy, state childhood obesity policies, national nutrition agenda setting, policy formulation and implementationPredictors of enactment, instruments prescribed to influence school food environment, strategies used to move nutrition agenda forward, enabling/inhibiting factors, levels of commitment, policy diffusion from state- to district-level
SchoolsElementary/high schools, school beverage shipments, school bus advertising, school-based obesity policy, wellness policy requirements, state department of education policy and structural changes to improve nutritionBeverage industry self-regulation, sugar-sweetened beverage availability, acceptability of specific intervention strategies, changes in wellness policies before and after federal mandates, changes in food options, food service finances, implementation and awareness of guidelines
ProgramsOutcomes and cost of community-based management of acute malnutrition, procedural programs to create healthy environments for vulnerable populations, promotional tool for healthy body imageImplementation processes, lessons learned, cost-effectiveness, extent of cooperation, population reach, perceived potential of tool
OtherFood advertising, language of midwives, GDP/Gini Index/GII, climate change, international human rights obligations regarding rights to food and healthNational approaches to addressing food insecurity, impacts on gender inequality, global distribution of obesity, impacts on household decision making
  • Abbreviations: GDP, Gross Domestic Product; GII, Global Innovation Index; WIC, Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children.