NUTRITION DATA VALUE CHAIN SCOPING REVIEW

Background: Fragmentation of nutrition data systems across sectors and stages of the nutrition data value chain (DVC) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) constrains the effective use of data for nutrition policy and program decision-making. Objective: To conduct a scoping review to map nutrition-relevant data sources and tools across DVC stages; describe their reported use in nutrition policy and program decisions; synthesize barriers, enabling factors, and governance constraints affecting data-to-decision pathways; and identify innovations and emerging practices to strengthen nutrition data systems in LMICs. Methods: This scoping review protocol is developed in accordance with Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology for scoping reviews and will be reported following the PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). Eligibility criteria are defined using a Participants–Concept–Context (PCC) framework. The review will include peer-reviewed and grey literature published from 2016 onward that addresses at least one stage of the nutrition DVC—prioritization, data collection, curation/management, analysis, interpretation/communication, or use—within LMIC policy or program contexts. Clinical or facility-only assessments, purely methodological studies without applied decision contexts, and promotional materials will be excluded. A comprehensive search strategy will be applied across PubMed, Scopus, ProQuest, and Google Scholar, supplemented by targeted searches of institutional repositories and reference list screening. Two reviewers will independently screen records and extract data using standardized and piloted forms. Charted data will be synthesized using descriptive mapping and framework-based thematic analysis to produce an inventory of tools and an article-level synthesis of data use, barriers, enabling factors, and governance considerations.