| Background: Considering the low frequency of dairy intake in the population,
interventions aiming to increase its consumption can be a priority for any health
system.
Objective: This study aims to summarize community-based interventions for
improving dairy consumption and their effectiveness to help policy-makers in
designing coherent public health strategies.
Methods: This study was conducted in 2019, using PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus,
EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, ProQuest, and Google Scholar. Two
independent reviewers selected the eligible studies, and the outcomes of interest
were extracted. The quality of eligible studies was assessed using the Joanna Briggs
Institute Critical Appraisal Checklist for randomized controlled trials and quasiexperimental
studies.
Results: Out of 521 initially identified articles, 25 studies were included. Interventions
reported in 19 studies were effective in increasing dairy consumption. Interventions
in high-income countries were more effective than those in middle- and low-income
countries. Interventions in health centers and supermarkets were more effective than
the community and school-level interventions. Interventions in supermarkets and
adolescents as target groups were more effective than children, middle-aged people,
and the elderly. Also, educational interventions and changing buying/selling pattern
were more effective than multiple interventions. Interventions longer than 24 and 48
weeks were more effective than shorter interventions.
Conclusion: Three policy options including educational interventions, multiple
interventions, and changing the purchase pattern are suggested. It seems that
applying all of the interventions together can be more effective. Also, long-term and
well-designed future studies in different settings are recommended to confirm these
results |