Mapping the landscape of digital nutrition knowledge repositories in Kenya and beyond: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Background: Many developed nations have created national digital nutrition and health repositories that are backed by science and remain continuously updated. These health knowledge repositories act as standardised, easily accessible reference points for healthcare workers and have been the basis of creating evidence-based patient-facing health guidelines. However, such digital health interventions are nonexistent or highly inaccessible for clinical nutritionists in developing nations like Kenya. Health knowledge management in Sub-Saharan Africa is often focused on digitising public health repositories with thematic areas such as food insecurity, malnutrition, or Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene. This leaves the clinical sector with analogue repositories, such as printed manuals, booklets, or charts, which are an inefficient way of accessing updated scientific guidelines, leading to misinformation and non-standardisation of practice among clinicians. Objective: This review examines global and regional frameworks for creating evidence-based nutrition or health knowledge repositories to understand the frameworks used, their benefits, challenges and implementation gaps. Methodology: It analyses 11 studies from various contexts, highlighting themes in common frameworks and design principles used, drivers and benefits of digital health repositories, implementation barriers and challenges, as well as cultural adaptation. Results: The review notes that common principles used are FAIR and TRUST principles, knowledge management frameworks, and consideration of cultural concepts. The key gap noted is limited empirical evidence from Kenya or East Africa. Conclusion: The review proposes the conceptualisation of a Kenyan digital clinical nutrition knowledge repository by connecting global evidence with local context to advance nutrition knowledge system innovations and health outcomes.

Keywords: Nutrition knowledge repository; Digital health; Evidence-based practice; Knowledge management in clinical practices; Healthcare professional guidelines