Evidence based nutrition recommendations for impacting health disparities

Introduction: American Dietetic Association (ADA) is the nation's largest organization of food and nutrition professionals. ADA is committed to improving the nation's health and advancing the profession of dietetics through research, education and advocacy. One of ADA's most valued resources is the Evidence Analysis Library which houses summarized nutrition research with recommendations to guide nutrition practice. Utilizing a rigorous process for evidence analysis and guideline development, ADA recently published a set of conclusions on Nutrition and Health Disparities. Methods: ADA's evidence analysis process is a systematic review with five steps: Formulate Evidence Analysis Question, Conduct Literature Review for Each Question, Critically Appraise Each Report, Summarize Evidence, and Develop Conclusion Statement and Assign Grade. Specific Health Disparities questions were related to access to nutrition services, improving cultural competency through cross-cultural communication, effectiveness of nutrition intervention methods and impacting food security and health outcomes. Inclusion criteria included all ages, US population with attention to racial/ethnic groups, low income, low SES, medically uninsured or under-insured and geographically isolated. Health conditions included Diabetes, CVD, Overweight/Obese, and Breastfeeding. Results: Over 80 studies were reviewed, rated for quality and summarized, resulting in 12 conclusion statements each graded by the strength of the evidence. Discussion: Speaker will review the conclusion statements to highlight nutritional best practices in eliminating health disparities. Findings related to improved self efficacy, effective models of care, and enhanced cross-cultural communications will be emphasized. An interactive discussion will be facilitated on ways to use the findings to enhance future nutrition initiatives.