USDA Nutrition Evidence Library: methodology used to identify topics and develop systematic review questions for the birth-to-24-mo population

The USDA's Nutrition Evidence Library (NEL) specializes in conducting food- and nutrition-related systematic reviews that are used to inform federal government decision making. To ensure the utility of NEL systematic reviews, the most relevant topics must be addressed, questions must be clearly focused and appropriate in scope, and review frameworks must reflect the state of the science. Identifying the optimal topics and questions requires input from a variety of stakeholders, including scientists with technical expertise, as well as government policy and program leaders. The objective of this article is to describe the rationale and NEL methodology for identifying topics and developing systematic review questions implemented as part of the Evaluating the evidence base to support the inclusion of infants and children from birth to 24 months of age in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans the B-24 Project. This is the first phase of a larger project designed to develop dietary guidance for the birth to 24-mo population in the United States.