Integration between nutrition and nursing in the prevention of malnutrition in Primary Health Care: a systematic review (2020-2026)

Abstract

Preventing malnutrition in Primary Health Care (PHC) requires that those who follow children and older adults day to day can rely on those who master nutritional therapy. This systematic review examined how nurses and nutritionists have shared this task in studies published from 2020 to 2026. The guiding question followed the PICo acronym, and reporting followed the PRISMA 2020 checklist. Seven documented searches run in October 2026, together with screening the reference lists of selected articles, yielded 67 records; after 16 duplicates were discarded, 48 were screened and 15 were read for eligibility. Twelve studies met the criteria: seven from Brazil and five from the United Kingdom, Australia and Indonesia. The synthesis points to a division of labour in which nursing detects risk and sustains follow-up, while the nutritionist refines management and builds team capacity. This arrangement leaves measurable traces: in a random sample from Paraíba, Brazil, children linked to teams without a nutritionist or with untrained professionals had lower weight-for-age. Collaboration, however, tends to be episodic, based on referrals that are seldom discussed again, and is hindered by the shortage of nutritionists and of nutrition training. Strengthening integration depends less on isolated training and more on agreed care pathways, reference professionals and the effective presence of nutritionists in the teams.