TABLE 1.

Characteristics of included studies¹

First author, year (reference number)	Study aims	Category	Intervention type	Nutrition topic	Data collection	Theoretical perspective
Shelton RC, 2018 (94)	To examine and discuss conceptual and methodological issues in studying sustainability	Systems framing or language	Scope of Implementation	Intervention methods	Review	Dynamic sustainability framework
Stave KA, 2015 (95)	To explain and demonstrate the system dynamics approach for examining food systems closely	Systems modeling (SDM)	Planning and organizing interventions	Agriculture policy, nutrition education, communication, and behavior	Modeling	Whole systems approach
Brownson RC, 2018 (90)	To aid practitioners in building organizational-level capacity and assist researchers in conducting participatory research	Systems framing or language	Planning and organizing interventions	Methods to translate health information	Review	n/a
Erasmus E, 2016 (63)	To investigate the scope of health and systems education among partners in the organization	Systems framing or language	Scope of implementation	Food and health policy and systems	Cross-sectional	Social science theory
Yamey G, 2012 (75)	To understand how to scale up health tools in low- to middle-income countries	Systems framing or language	Scope of implementation	Health and food access	Qualitative Study	Diffusion of innovation
Glegg SMN, 2019 (104)	To comprehensively map ways social network analysis are used in D&I	Systems modeling (SNA)	Dissemination	Methods to translate health knowledge/information	Review	Whole systems approach
Hammer JM, 2010 (76)	To improve the understanding about what reasonably to expect from large group interventions and how best to design them	Systems framing or language	Planning and organizing interventions	Health and nutrition education	Case study	Large group intervention theory
Hitziger M, 2018 (97)	To improve the integration, governance, and coordination of implementing the One Health framework into practice	Systems framing or language	Utilization/adoption of evidence-based practices (EBPs)	Methods to translate health knowledge/information	Case study	One Health framework
Zhang J, 2015 (91)	To build an agent-based model (ABM) of adolescent BMI and test the impact of social influence on combined overweight and obesity prevalence in the population	Systems modeling (ABM)	Planning and organizing interventions	BMI and obesity (nutrition-related)	Secondary data analysis	Social learning theory
Kalim K, 2006 (86)	To describe systems thinking and illustrate its value in understanding the complexity of the diabetes national service framework	Systems modeling (SDM)	Planning and organizing interventions	Diabetes (nutrition-related disease)	Qualitative study	Systems thinking/systems theory
Johnston LM, 2014 (59)	To explore the utility of the intervention-level framework	Systems framing or language	Planning and organizing interventions	Obesity policy	Review	Intervention-level framework
Limbani F, 2019 (87)	To report the relationships, benefits, and challenges of process evaluation and complex interventions	Systems framing or language	Utilization/adoption of an EBP	Hypertension (nutrition-related disease)	Case study	n/a
Loyo HK, 2013 (77)	To align prevention efforts and maximize the effect of limited resources; to pioneer an innovative, systems-oriented approach to understand the dynamic dimensions of health protection policies	Systems modeling (SDM)	Planning and organizing interventions	Chronic disease/obesity policy (nutrition-related diseases)	Modeling	Whole systems approach
Luig T, 2018 (57)	To explore implementation strategies using the interactive systems framework	Systems framing or language	Utilization/adoption of an EBP	Methods to translate health knowledge/information	Qualitative study	Interactive systems framework
McGlashan J, 2016 (60)	To explore the application of network analysis to a community-developed causal-loop diagram (CLD) to advance understanding of the system drivers of obesity to plan for interventions	Systems modeling (SNA and SDM)	Planning and organizing interventions	Obesity (nutrition-related)	Modeling	Whole systems approach
Widener MJ, 2013 (85)	To contribute to the current discourse on food deserts by presenting an agent-based model (ABM) that tests several spatial and aspatial interventions	Systems modeling (ABM)	Planning and organizing interventions	Health and food access	Modeling	Whole systems approach
Nianogo RA, 2015 (88)	To review studies that used agent-based modeling (ABM) to study noncommunicable diseases as well as their risk factors in the context of public health	Systems science modeling (ABM)	Scope of implementation	Physical activity, diet, and diabetes (nutrition-related)	Review	Whole systems approach
Buchthal OV, 2015 (103)	To identify communication and collaboration patterns among organizations involved in nutrition education within a diverse community	Systems modeling (SNA)	Dissemination	Methods to translate health knowledge/information	Qualitative study	Whole systems approach
Peterson H, 2018 (82)	To describe the importance of implementation science in health	Systems framing or language	Scope of implementation	Methods to translate health knowledge/information	Review	Active implementation framework/interactive and synergistic framework
Phillips W, 2006 (102)	To investigate multilevel networks and their impact on diffusion of innovation	Systems framing or language	Dissemination	Methods to translate health knowledge/information	Case study	Systems of innovation
Ramaswamy R, 2019 (98)	To develop an interdisciplinary practice-focused curriculum to teach Master of Public Health (MPH) students D&I	Systems framing or language	Curriculum development	Health and nutrition education	Review	Kirkpatrick model of learning evaluation
Resnicow K, 2008 (92)	To provide a summary on chaos and complex adaptive systems (CAS) use in public health	Systems framing or language	Scope of implementation	Intervention methods	Review	Chaos theory/complex adaptive systems
Riley B, 2012 (78)	To integrate the lessons emerging from the literature with those of identified leaders in public health; to begin to identify useful principles to help public health better understand, assess, and shape the creation and use of EBP	Systems framing or language	Utilization/adoption of EBP	Methods to translate health knowledge/information	Review	Complex adaptive systems
Hammond R, 2014 (96)	Re-examine a “follow the average” hypothesis to test whether the central insight from the original model holds and explore what new insights can be gained from a more detailed and complex model	Systems modeling (ABM)	Planning and organizing interventions	BMI (nutrition-related)	Modeling	Whole systems approach
Smith T, 2016 (100)	To explore how communities translate evidence-based and promising health practices to rural contexts	Systems framing or language	Utilization/adoption of EBP	Methods to translate health knowledge/information	Case study	Interactive systems framework
Theobald S, 2018 (89)	To provide key features in implementation research in low-/middle-income countries	Systems framing or language	Scope of implementation	Methods to translate health knowledge/information	Case study	n/a
Wang Y, 2015 (93)	To review current strategies used to model health-related issues by using systems science	Systems modeling (SDM)	Scope of implementation	Obesity and noncommunicable chronic diseases (nutrition-related)	Review	Systems thinking/systems theory
Williams J, 2010 (83)	To explore how systems thinking might be used to guide state officials in developing a research-based evaluation plan for training programs and improve the understanding of the relationships and dependencies among units in an organization	Systems framing or language	Utilization/adoption of EBP	Health and nutrition education	Review	ABCD model approach inquiry: Phase A—Where do we want to be? Phase B—How will we know when we reached it? Phase C—Where are we now? Phase D—How do we get from here to our desired place? During the process, researchers continously consider the ongoing changes to the environment
Woltering L, 2019 (84)	To demonstrate the problems underlining successful scalability of the sustainable development goals	Systems framing or language	Scope of implementation	Intervention methods	Review	n/a
Li Y, 2015 (79)	To use ABM to help understand the potential impact of implementing lifestyle interventions	Systems modeling (ABM)	Utilization/adoption of EBP	Lifestyle intervention (smoking, overweight, diet, and physical activity)	Qualitative study	Whole systems approach
Yousefi-Nooraie R, 2015 (80)	Tested whether engagement of staff in the intervention and their behavior were associated with being chosen as information source	Systems modeling (SNA)	Dissemination	Methods to translate health knowledge/information	Longitudinal	Transactive memory principles/whole systems approach
Yousefi-Nooraie R, 2012 (101)	A quantitative social network analysis designed to understand how the staff of a health department in Canada turned to peers to seek information regarding research evidence to inform practice-based decisions	Systems modeling (SNA)	Dissemination	Methods to translate health knowledge/information	Cross-sectional	Whole systems approach/social capital theory/social influence theory
Yousefi-Nooraie R, 2014 (81)	To model how managers and professional consultants seek information to inform evidence-informed decisions in a public health department in Canada	Systems modeling (SNA)	Dissemination	Methods to translate health knowledge/information	Cross-sectional	Whole systems approach
Zenni E, 2006 (99)	To implement and evaluate the effectiveness of scenario-based learning in enhancing medical residents’ competencies of systems thinking to address patients	Systems framing or language	Evaluation	Health and nutrition education	Case study	Systems thinking/systems theory/adult learning theory

¹ABM, agent-based modeling; CAS, complex adaptive system; CLD, causal-loop diagram; D&I, dissemination and implementation; EBP, evidence-based practice; n/a, not available; SDM, systems dynamic modeling; SNA, systems network analysis.